■REPORT OF i SURVEr 

Of 

fUBLIG EDUCATION IN 

OKUHOMIi, 1922 




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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

U ^ . BUREAU OF EDUCATION 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN 
OKLAHOMA 




A REPORT OF A SURVEY OF PUBI^IC EDUCATION IN THE 
STATE OF OKLAHOMA, MADE AT THE REQUPIST OF THE 
OKLAHOMA STATE EDUCATIONAL SURVEY COMMISSION, 
UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE UNITED STATES COMMIS- 
SIONER OF EDUCATION. 



WASHINGTON 
DECEMBER 11,1922 



.A3 



LiSRAKY 0' ,,,ESS 

Rcceivto 

^:ov2 1; 1023 



j)OCUM£i\TS DiVlSlON, 



CONTENTS. 

Letter of Commissioner Tigert to the Chairman of the Oklahoma 

State Survey Commission v 

Letter of Transmittal vii 

Members of the Survey Staff ix 

I. Introduction 1 

II. Historical Background 6 

III. Problems of Financing Public Schools _ 26 

IV. Financial and Accounting Procedure _ 76 

V. Organization and Administration 119 

VI. Higher Education 128 

VII. The Rural Schools _ 197 

VIII. Village and City Schools 279 

IX. Education of Indians 309 

X, Education of Negroes 325 

XI. Educational Tests and Measurements 351 

XII. Summary of Conclusions and Recommendations 359 

Appendix A. Legislation Affecting City School Systems 406 

Appendix B. Statement of Untaxed Indian Lands in Oklahoma 416 
Appendix C. Plan for Distribution of Aid from the Julius 

Rosen wald Fund _ _ _ _ „.„ 419 



iii 



LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Education 
Washin^on 

Letter of Commissioner Tigert to the Chairman of the Oklahoma 
State Educational Survey Commission. 

Honorable Robert H. "Wilson, Chairman. 
Oklahoma State Educational Survey Commission, 
Oklahoma Cit^, Oklahoma. 

My dear Mr. Wilson: 

In accordance with the agreement entered into with the Okla- 
homa State Educational Survey Commission, I have caused a care- 
ful study to be made of public education in Oklahoma, and have 
received and given due consideration to the reports made to me by 
members of the Survey Staff designated to make the investigation. 

I take pleasure in transmitting this report for consideration by 
your Commission, and, in due time, by the people of Oklahoma. 

Permit me to express appreciation of the cordial spirit of co- 
operation with the Survey manifested by all concerned with edu- 
cation in Oklahoma. The Bureau of Education and the people of 
Oklahoma are under obligation also to those State and City de- 
partments of education, and educational institutions, which have 
co-operated by making it possible for represientatives to serve on 
the Survey Staff. Educational experts from seven widely separat- 
ed States (Minnesota, Kansas, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, New York, 
Georgia) have participated in this investigation, under the direc- 
tion of the Federal Bureau of Education. By adding their counsel 
to that of representatives of the Bureau it has thus been possible to 
bring to bear on the problems of public education in Oklahoma the 
lessons of experience drawn from all parts of the United States. 

I trust that the results of our efforts may play some appropri- 
ate part in the educational awakening for which the people of Ok- 
lahoma appear to be ready. 

Cordially yours, 

JNO J. TIGERT, 
Commissioner. 
Washington, December 11, 1922. 



LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 

Hon. J. B. A. Robertson, 
Governor of Oklahoma, 
Oklahoma City. 

Dear Sir: 

In accordance with the provisions of Senate Bill No. 19, enacted 
by the Special Session of the State Legislature of Oklahoma, the 
Educational Survey Commission, at its first meeting held November 
15, 1921, requested the United States Commissioner of Education 
to make the necessary arrangements and conduct a survey of pub- 
lic education in Oklahoma. 

The Educational Survey Commission, on November 30, 1921, 
elected Mr. John S. Vaughan Executive Secretary for the Commis- 
sion and authorized him to represent the Commission in carrying 
out the details of the survey. 

Complying with the request of the Survey Commission, Dr. 
William T. Bawden of the Bureau of Education, met with the Com- 
mission in Oklahoma City, January 2-3, 1922, and presented in de- 
tail plans and terms for making the survey. The Survey Commis- 
sion formally accepted the terms as presented by Dr. Bawden, and 
requested that the Bureau of Education make all necessary arrange- 
ments for completing the survey. 

During the months of April and May, 1922, a comprehensive 
series of tests was given to selected groups of children, in all types 
of public schools, in all sections of the State, by a group of Oklahoma 
educators, under the direction of the United States Bureau of Edu- 
cation. The committee was organized by Dean W. W. Phelan, Col- 
lege of Education, University of Oklahoma, who served as chairman 
until his departure from the state. He was then succeeded by Henry 
D. Rinsland, director of educational research, public schools of 
Ardmore. 

In view of the desire of the Commission to include in the sur- 
vey a study of the special problems of education for Indians in 
Oklahoma, the cooperation of the United States Bureau of Indian 
Affairs was sought, through the Department of the Interior. This 
request was immediately granted, and Commissioner Burke des- 
ignated Mr. Peairs as his personal representative for this study. 

vii 



The field Avork of the survey began on October 16, 1922, with a 
conference with the Commission in Oklahoma City. Approximately 
five hundred twenty-three days were devoted to field work by nine- 
teen mem,bers of the Survey Staff; most of the visiting being done 
between October 16th and November 11th. Schools were visited in 
forty-six of the seventy-seven counties of the state. 

On Thursday, December 14, 1922, Dr. Bawden presented his 
report as Director of the Survey to the Oklahoma Educational Sur- 
vey Commission in executive session in Oklahoma City. 

After listening to a reading of the report by Dr. Bawden, a 
motion was duly made and seconded that the report be accepted 
and printed, and a copy delivered to the Governor, with the request 
that he present this report to the Legislature for its serious consid- 
eration. The motion was unanimously carried and in obedience 
thereto we submit herewith a copy of the report. 

Dr. Bawden was requested by the Commission to prepare a 
digest of the report, and that same be released to the newspapers 
on Sunday, December the 24th. 

The Commission requested the Secretary to have one thousand 
copies of Chapter IX. relating to "The Education of Indians" 
printed, and that copies of same be furnished to the Senators and 
Congressmen for consideration. 

The Commission is convinced that the bureau of Education has 
made an earnest endeavor to give the state of Oklahoma a survey 
free from bias and in the interest of its public schools. We trust 
that the Legislature and the citizenship of the state will accept the 
survey in the spirit in which it has been made and apply these 
standards to our present school system. 

Respectfully submitted, 

EDUCATIONAL SURVEY COMMISSION. 
R. H. WILSON, Chairman, 
GEO. F. SOUTHARD, Member. 
CHAS. L. BROOKS, Member, 
J. A. DUFF, Member, 
CYRUS S. AVERY, Member. 

JOHN S. VAUGHAN, Executive Secretary. 

December 18, 1922. 



Vlll 



MEMBERS OF THE SURVEY STAFF. 

The members of the staff appointed by the Commissioner of 
Education to make the survey of the public schools, the higher 
educational institutions, and the Government Indian Schools in the 
State of Oklahoma, and to report to him their findings and recom- 
mendations, are as follows : 
From the United States Bureau of Education. 

Dr. "William T. Bawden, Assistant to Commissioner, Director 
of the Survey. 

Dr. George F. Zook, Chief, Division of Higher Education. 

Mrs. Katherine M. Cook, Chief, Rural Schools Division. 

Dr. Willard S. Small, Chief, Division of Physical Education and 
School Hygiene. 

Mrs. Henrietta W. Calvin Specialist in Home Economics. 

William R. Hood, Specialist in Educational Legislation. 

Miss Maud C. Newbury, Assistant in Rural Education. 

E. E. Windes, Assistant in Rural Education. 

Lloyd E. Blauch, Specialist in Charge of Land-Grant College 
Statistics. 

Major Alex Summers, Collector and Compiler of Statistics. 
From Outside the United States Bureau of Education. 

Dr. Frank L. McVey, President, University of Kentucky, Lex- 
ington, Ky. 

Raymond M. Hughes, President, Miami University, Oxford, 
Ohio. 

Dr. Fletcher Harper Swift, Professor of Education, College of 
Education, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis'. 

Ralph Bowman, Consulting Accountant, and member of staff 
of United States Bureau of Efficiency, Washington, D. C. 

J. W. Gowans, Superintendent of Public Schools, Hutchinson, 

Kansas. 

Dr. E. E. Lewis, Superintendent of Public Schools, Rockford, 
Illinois. 

George A. Works Professor of Rural Education, Cornell Uni- 
versity, Ithaca, New York. 



H. B. Peairs, Chief Supervisor of Education, United States In- 
dian Service, Department of the Interior, Washington, D, C. 

Herbert C. Calhoun, Supervisor of Schools for the Five Civil- 
ized Tribes, U. S. Indian Service, Muskogee, Oklahoma. 

R. M. Spalsbury, Supervisor of Schools, U. S. Indian Service, 
Lawrence, Kansas. 

Dr. Thomas Jesse Jones, Director, Phelps-Stokes Fund, New^ 
York City. 

Miss Bertha Eckert, Secretary, Indian Department, National 
Board Y. W. C. A., New York City. 

"Walter B. Hill, State Supervisor of Negro Education, State 
Department of Education, Atlanta, Ga. 



citaptp:r f. 

INTRODUCTION. 

The Oklahoma State Leg-islature, in Special Sestsion, 1921, 
passed an "Act creating a Commission of Educational Survey, nam- 
ing the duties, providing for an educational survey of the State 
school system of Oklahoma and making an appropriation of twenty 
thousand dollars ($20,000)." 

The members of the Commission, appointed by Governor J. B. 
A. Roibertson are as follows: 

Robert, H. Wilson, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
Oklahoma City, Chairman ex-officio. 

George F. Southard, Enid. 

Charles L. Brooks, Sapulpa. 

J. A. Duff, Cordell. 

Cyrus S. Avery, Tulsa. 

Later, the Commission appointed J. S. Vaughan as its Executive 
Secretary/. 

The first meeting of the Commission was held at Oklahoma City 
on November 15th, 1921, at which time the chairman was directed 
to open negotiations with the U. S. Commissioner of Education. On 
December 10th Governor Robertson conferred with Commissdoner 
Tigert in Washington concerning the major problems which it is 
hoped the Survey, might assist in solving. After some correspond- 
ence, a second meeting of the Commission Avas held at Oklahoma 
City on January 2, 3, 1922, at which a representative of the Bureau 
of Education was present for conference on details) of the survey. 

At this meeting "a resolution was unanimously adopted by the 
Survey Commission inviting the Bureau of Education at Washing- 
ton to direst and make the Educational Survey of the State as indi- 



2 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

eated by the law passed by the last session of the Oklahoma State 
Legislature, and that the Commission pledges whatever support it 
can give to the Bureau of Education in the Survey to be made." 1 

(1) From letter of Secretary Vaughan to Commissioner of Education. 

In view of the desire of the Commission to include in the Sur- 
vey a study of the special problems of education for Indians in 
Oklahoma, the co-operation of the United States Bureau of Indian 
Affairs was sought, through the Department of the Interior. This 
request was immediately granted, and Commissioner Burke desig- 
nated Mr. Peairs as his personal representative for this study. 

On January 17th, 1922, the Commissioner of Education accept- 
ed the invitation to make the Survey, and steps were taken at once 
to organize a staff of investigators. On August 21st a partial list 
of names was submitted to the Commissioner for approval, with 
the understanding that additional names would be submitted later. 

During the months of April and May a committee of Oklahoma 
educators, under the direction of the Bureau of Education, conduct- 
ed a series of educational tests and measurements in public schools 
in various parts of the State. Dean W. W. Phelan, of the Univer- 
sity of Oklahoma, served as chairman of this committee until his de- 
parture from the State, when he was succeeded by Henry D. Rins- 
land, director of educational research in the public schools of Ard- 
more. 

In August, 1922, Governor Robertson pledged an additional 
sum from contingent funds to be available, if necessary, to meet the 
extra expense incurred by reason of including a special study of 
education for Indians. 

THE FIELD WORK. 

The field work of the Survey began on October 16th, with a 
conference with the Commission at Oklahoma City. Conferences of 
the Survey Staff were held each Saturday until the close of the 
field work. 



INTRODUCTION 3 

Approximately 523 days were devoted to field work by 19 
members of the Survey Staff, most of the visiting being done be- 
tween October 16 and Novemlber 11. Schools were visited in 46 of 
the 77 counties of the State, as follows : 

Number of Counties Number of Members of Staff 

Visiting 

1 19 

2 10 

1 9 

2 8 
2 6 
2 5 

5 4 
8 3 

6 2 
17 • 1 

Total number of counties visited 46 

Aggregate number of visits, at least 179 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 




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INTRODUCTION 5 

THE SURVEY BUD GET. 

The principal items of expenditure in connection with the Sur- 
vey, to date, (December 11, 1922) may be summarized as foUoAvs: 

Transportation of 19 members of staff $ 2,648.80 

Honoraria and subsistence of 13 members of the staff 

not connected with the U. S. Bureau of Education 8,618.00 

Subsistence of 6 members of the staff from the U. S. 

Bureau of Education 1,536.50 

Educational tests (Dean Phelan's Committee) estimated. 4,000.00 

Expenses, Secretary's office, (Mr. Vaughan) estimated 4,800.00 

Printing report (estimated) 2,500.00 

Clerical assistance ("Washington - tabulating question- 

aires) 746.00 

Miscellaneous expenses, supplies, etc; _ 85.11 

Total :...: ;.. ...................$24,934.41 



CHAPTER II. 
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND. 

OUTLINE OF POLITICAL, HISTORY. 

Area and Early Beginnings. Oklahoma, a word of Choctaw In- 
dian origin, means "Land of the Red Men." As a name for a ter- 
ritorial area it is said to have been first suggested by members of 
the Choctaw Commission to Washington for the purpose of form- 
ing a new treaty between that Indian nation and the United States 
after the close of the Civil War. Its first legal application to a 
political division was to the territory comprising the unassigned 
and certain other lands near the center of what is now the State of 
Oklahoma when that territory was provided with a form of govern- 
ment by act of Congress in 1890. 

Congress in 1830 (1) authorized the President to set aside 

(1) 4 Stat. L. 411. 

lands "of any territory belonging to the United States, west of the 
river Mississippi, not included in any State or organized territory, 
and to which the Indian title has been extinguished," for the pur- 
pose of exchange for the lands of Indians where they then resided, 
the intent of the act being the removal of the Red Men of the 
eastern States, particularly those of the southeast, to points west 
of the Mississippi. Four years later (2) Congress declared to be 

(2) Ibid., 729. 

"Indian country" all that part of the United States west of the 
Mississippi and not within the States of Missouri and Louisiana or 
the Territory of Arkansas. This act regulated trade with the In- 
dians, but set up no territorial government. The Indian tribes, 
which at that time were in process of settling in the West, retained 
their own tribal organizations. The Kansas-Nebraska Bill approv- 
ed May 30, 1854, fixed the 37th parallel of latitude as the southern 
boundary of Kansas, and thus the "Indian country" was restricted 



HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 7 

to that part of the United States which was bounded on the east by- 
Missouri and Arkansas, on the north by Kansas, on the west by the 
Texas Panhandle, and on the south by Texas. 

Within the territory thus outlined the State of Oklahoma de- 
veloped. Speaking generally, its area originally comprised three 
divisions. First was the Indian Territory, which at the time of 
the admission of the State extended over the eastern half and was 
occupied by the Five Civilized Tribes and a few less important tribes 
whose reservations were comparatively small. The reservations of 
the civilized tribes — Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek and 
Seminole — formerly extended to the Texas Panhandle, but after the 
Civil War the necessity for negotiating new treaties between those 
Indians and the Government arose, and as a constequence their ter- 
ritory was curtailed, and the western section was assigned to vari- 
ous "plains Indians" such as the Comanche and Arapaho. 

This western section thus became the second division here 
thought of and constituted the main area of the Territory of Okla- 
homa as organized by Act of Congress of May 2, 1890 (1) and 

(1) 26 Stat. L. 81. 

later enlarged. In the assignment of lands to the plains Indians, 
an area of about 3,000 square miles near the center of the present 
State had been overlooked or otherwise left unassigned. This un- 
assigned area was opened to settlement April 22, 1889, and was soon 
occupied by thousands of settlers, but the people were temporarily 
left to govern themselves, as no legally formed government was pro- 
vided until the passage of the act organizing the Territory of Okla- 
homa the following year. By subsequent "openings" of land to 
settlement, including the Cherokee Outlet along the Kansas line 
and the Kiowa-Comanche country to the southward, the Territory 
of Oklahoma was enlarged until in 1901, when the "openings" were 
practically completed it included the entire western half of the 
present state. 

The third division was the rectangular strip about 35 miles 
wide and 160 miles in length lying along the north side of the Texas 
Panhandle. This w^as known as the "Public Land Strip" and was 
included in Oklahoma on the organization of that Territory, This 
strip is the only part of the present State which was not within the 
Louisiana Purchase. With other Mexican possessions north of the 
Rio Grande and the mouth of the Colorado, it was acquired by the 



S PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

United States under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. But 
since it lies north of latitude 36° 30', slavery could not exist there 
under the terms of the Missouri Compromise, and in consequence 
Texas, after some controversy, ceded it to the United States in 
1850, Neither of the Territories of New Mexico and Kansas, w^hich 
were organized in 1850 and 1854, respectively, included the Public 
Land Strip, hence it was left outside the limits of any legally or- 
ganized political division and came to be popularly known as "No 
Man's Land." An attempt was made to organize the "Territory 
of Cimarron" there in 1887, but this was without legal authority. 

The total area of Oklahoma as made up of the three divisions 
described above is 70,057 square miles. 

The Indian Territory. The eastern half of the present State, 
which for a long time was popularly known as "Indian Territory," 
was in fact never a Territory in the ordinary sense of first organ- 
ization as a prospective State. It never had a full Territorial form 
of government such as existed in other States before their admis- 
sion to the Union. The Indians had their own tribal governments, 
sulbject of course to the authority of the United States and to 
treaty agreements, and all the Five Civilized Tribes, except the 
Seminole, had progressed so far as to have written constitutions 
under which executive, legislative and judicial branches of govern- 
mental functioning were in operation ; but for the white population 
which had filtered in there was little legal regulation. 

This condition, however, tended to change. The same act of 
Congress which gave a form of government to the Territory of Ok- 
lahoma also contained provisions affecting the Indian Territory. 
These provisions extended the jurisdiction of the Federal Courts 
in that Territory and made applicable there numerous Statutes of 
Arkansas. The Arkansas statutes thus made applicable related to 
various civil matters, such as the transfer of property, guardians 
and wards, marriage and divorce, and to criminal law and pro- 
cedure. 

In 1893 Congress provided for the so-called Dawes Commission, 
The purpose of this Commission was, in general, to make various 
needed adjustments in Indian affairs. The Commission settled num- 
erous questions of tribal relationship, arranged for the allotment of 
tribal lands to individuals, and adjusted many problems of the 
white population as well. 



HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 9 

A very important act, so far as the Indian Territory was con- 
cerned was that of June 28, 1898 (1), which enlarged the jurisdie- 

(1) 30 Stat. L. 495. 

tion of the Federal Courts, authorized the incorporation of towns 
and cities and the maintenance of schools therein, further extended 
the application of the Statutes of Arkansas, discontinued the en- 
forcement of tribal laws by the courts of the United States, abol- 
ished all tribal courts, and otherwise 'provided "for the protection 
of the people of the Indian Territory." Following this act, other 
legislation was enacted from time to time until the Indian govern- 
ments were virtually abolished and Federal laws put into operation. 

STATEHOOD. 

As there was for a decade or more continuous agitation for 
the opening of the unassigned lands in what came to be Oklahoma 
Territory, so agitation for Statehood was incessant through a rela- 
tively long period. Much has been said and written of the reasons 
why Oklahoma was so long denied admission to the Union, but 
with these we are not concerned here. By act of Congress approved 
June 16, 1906 (1), the people of Oklahoma Territory and the Indian 

(1) 34 Stat. L. 267. 

Territory were authorized to form a cons1;itution and State gov- 
ernment and to be admitted to the Union as the State of Oklahoma 
"on an equal footing with the original States." Accordingly, del- 
egates to a constitutional convention were elected on November 6, 
and soon thereafter convened and remained in session several 
months. Finally adjourning in July, 1907, the convention by ordin- 
ance submitted the constitution to the people at an election to be 
held on September 17 and also provided that State officers be elect- 
ed at the same time. The people adopted the constitution by a 
large majority and President Roosevelt issued a proclamation de- 
claring Oklahoma a State and naming November 16, 1907, as the 
date when the State government should be inaugurated. 

Thus ended the long struggle, first for the ascendency of the 
"White man in the Indian country, and then for Statehood along 
with the other 45 commonwealths of the Nation. Probably no other 
State had experienced so much difficulty in reaching that goal ; 
certainly no other State entered the Union with so large a popula- 
tion — nearly one and one-half mllions. The State's total popula- 
tion was 1,657,155 in 1910, and 2,028,283 in 1920. 



10 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

Aside from its entry into the Union with a large number of 
inhabitants, making it an important State from the 'beginning, Okla- 
homa presented on its admission several other notable features. Of 
all the States, it contains the largest and most important Indian 
population, the peoples of the Five Civilized Tribes being almost 
wholly within its borders. A second feature of note is seen in the 
character of its white people; few, if any, new States' have drawn 
their settlers from so wide an area or so many different parts of 
the country. 

The character of its development had a marked effect upon its 
laws, for the period of want of legally organized government in the 
western half and the existence of only codes of Indian laws in the 
east left little opportunity for the evolution of a legal system out. 
of the people's own experience. In consequence, when Congress 
finally responded to the need for a Territorial government, it was 
found necessary to borrow laws directly from other States; and 
thus a practice was begun which by no means ended with the pass- 
age of the "Organic Act," and which to the present time marks the 
State's legal system with some of the aspects of patchworli. 

The Oklahoma constitution attracted wide attention at the 
time of its adoption, not only because of certain "progressive fea- 
tures," as its friends doubtless regarded them, but also because of 
its length and the large amount of detail which it embodied. With 
regard to the former, it has been suggested that these merely repre- 
sent an effort of the people to make sure of certain guaranties by 
writing them into the State's organic law (1). The latter character- 

(1) See "Comments on the Constitution of Oklahoma," by R. L. Owen. Pro- 
ceedings of the American Political Science Association, 1908, p. 185. 

istic simply exemplifies and carries further the tendency, noticeable 
in this country for a third of a century or longer, to write statutory 
matter into constitutions. Oklahoma put a mass of detail into its 
constitution and then made this easy for the people to amend. 

INDIAN EDUCATION. 

The beginning of grants of land from the public domain for 
the endowment of the common schools represented the inauguration 
of the Federal Government's first policy with respect to public ed- 
ucation. Its second such policy is seen in the various provisions 
which it has made for the education of dependent peoples, including 
Indians. As early as Revolutionary times, the Continental Congress 



HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 11 

made appropriations for such purposes as hiring teachers for cer- 
tain Indian tribes and for the instruction of Indian youth at Dart- 
mouth College, but the Government can hardly be said to have em- 
barked as early as that upon a plan of education of the Red Race. 

In January, 1818, the 'House Committee on Indian Affairs re- 
ported in favor of the "establishment of schools at convenient and 
safe places amongst those tribes friendly to us": (1) and on March 

(1) American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. II, p. 151. 

3, 1819, the first general appropriation for Indian education was 
made by Congress, (2) the appropriation then made being "the an- 

(2) 3 Stat. L. 516. 

nual sum of $10,000." By act of July 9, 1832, (3) Congress author- 

(3) 4 Stat. L. 564. 

ized the President to appoint a Commissioner of Indian Affairs who 
was to perform his duties under the direction of the Secretary of 
War, (4) and in 1834 the powers of the Indian Office were en- 

(4) The Indian Office remained under the Secretary of War until the organi- 
zation of the Department of the Interior in 1849, when it was transferred 
to that Department. 

larged. (5) Thus were made the beginnings of the Governments 's 

(5) 4 Stat. L. 729-38. 

system of Indian education which has continued to the present time. 
Usually, in making treaties with the various tribes and nations, the 
Government made some provision for the education of their chil- 
dren, or indicated measures looking thereto, and the appropriations 
made by Congress for the "education and civilization" of the Indian 
have been augmented from time to time until the present annual to- 
tal is more than $5,000,000. 

Even 'before the removal of the Five Civilized Tribes from their 
original seats in the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee. Alabama and 
Mississippi, these peoples showed considerable interest in educa- 
tion. This was particularly true of the Cherokee and Choctaw na- 
tions, which at that early time maintained a few schools of their 
own, or subsidized those established by missionaries. After their 
removal to the West, which occurred for the most part in the fif- 
teen-year period beginning with 1825, the Civilized Tribes continued 
the development of their civilization, and schools and churches were 



IZ PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

not infrequently seen among the other marks of advancement. But, 
with the devastation of the Civil w^ar, in which the Indians of the 
Territory were largely allied with~the Southern Confederacy, dis- 
aster befell them, and such educational systems as they had were 
practically swept away. 

After the close of the "War and on the conclusion of new treat- 
ies, however, one of the first things to. which the Tribes turned their 
attention was the rehaibilitation of their schools. In 1886, some 20 
years after the conclusion of the post-war treaties, many schools, 
■both boarding and day, were maintained. The summary given be- 
low shows something of the extent of educational facilities among- 
the Five Civilized Tribes at that time (1). 

(1) See Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for 1886. 

Cherokee : 

Tribal boarding schools 3 

"Public" schools (day) 100 

Mission schools (exclusive of some not reporting) 7 

Choctaw : 

Tribal Boarding schools 3 

"Public" schools (day) 146 

High schools 4 

Mission schools (a) 

Chickasaw : 

Tribal boarding schools 4 

"Public" schools (day) 14 

Mission schools (a) 

Creek : 

Tribal boarding schools 5 

"Public" schools (day) 22 

"Public" schools (colored) 6 

Mission and private (exclusive of some not reporting) _• 6 
Seminole : 

"Public" schools 4 

Mission schools 2 

(a) Some maintained but not reported. 

It will be noted that these schools were, in general, of two 
classes : First, those maintained by the tribes themselves, and sec- 
ond, those maintained by missionary endeavor. The tribal schools 
were often let out under contract to persons who agreed to conduct 



HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 13 

them as stipulated, and on the other hand, mission schools some- 
times received subsidies from tribal funds. The settlement of the 
"plains Indians" in the western section of the Territory, which 
took place within the ten-year period following the clo&e of the 
Civil "War, led to the establishment of mission schools and Govern- 
ment schools for Indians at various tribal agencies of that section. 
Generally speaking, the policy adopted by the Federal Govern- 
ment was one of encouraging the tribal schools of the Indians more 
advanced in civilization and of providing school facilities with 
Government appropriations where the Indians were uncivilized or 
where such provision was otherwise advisable. On the organiza- 
tion of Oklahoma Territory in 1890 and the contemporaneous ex- 
tension of Federal authority in the Indian Territory, the Govern- 
ment's system of Indian education was continued and remained 
practically unchanged as to policy until the passage of the "Curtis 
Act" of June 28, 1898 (1). 

(1) 30 Stat. L. 495. 

This Act, to which reference hasi been made in a previous para- 
graph, took a long step toward the abolition of tribal governments 
and the consequent transference of the tribal school systems to the 
complete control and supervision of Federal agencies. By Act of 
April 26, 1906, (2) the Secretary of the Interior was authorized to 

(2) 24 Stat. L. 140. 

assume "control and direction" of the schools in the Five Civilized 
Tribes, "with the lands and all school property pertaining thereto," 
and to conduct the system until such time as a public school system 
should be established under a Territorial or State government, and 
"proper provision made thereunder for the education of the Indian 
children of said Tribes." Under the terms of this Act the Secre- 
tary immediately assumed general supervisory control of the Indian 
schools, and this arrangement continued until March 22, 1910, when 
entire charge of the schools was assumed. 

It should be observed that the admission of Oklahoma as a 
State did not materially affect the Government's system of educa- 
tion for the Indians. At present, the Indian children may be re- 
garded as falling within two general classes : Namely, those who 
attend the public schools of the State, and those who attend board- 
ing schools conducted for them by the Federal Government, the 
former being by far the larger number, approximately 22,000, as 



14 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

compared with 3,500 in the boarding schools. Those of the former 
class, whether Government wards or not, are generally admitted to 
the piiblie schools under existing law of the State, (1) but inasmuch 

(1) Oklahoma Constitution, Art. 1, sec. 5. 

as very many do not pay taxes, the Federal authorities each year 
have rendered considerable pecuniary assistance to the public school 
districts, admitting these children. 

THE STATE SCHOOL SYSTEM. 

TERRITORIAL PERIOD. 

The Act of Congress of 1890 organizing the Territory of Okla- 
homa extended to the new Territory various laws of Nebras'ka in so 
far as they were ''locally applicable" and provided that these 
should remain in force until after the adjournment of the first ses- 
sion of the Territorial legislature. Thus the Oklahoma scliool sys- 
tem received a distinctly Western flavor at the beginning, and 
Western characteristics have continued to the present time. 

From the opening of the unassigned lands in 1889, Oklahoma 
Territory was settled very rapidly, and a growing need of schools 
was soon evident. From April 22, 1889, when the first lands were 
opened to settlement, to May 2, 1890, when the Territory wasi organ- 
ized, no legal form of government existed, and the maintenance of 
an adequate school system was impossible. However, schools main- 
tained by subscriptions or like means were organized in several of 
the towns. The Federal act organizing the Territory empowered 
the legislature to provide for a school system, reserved sections 16 
and 36 in each township ''for the purpose of being applied to public 
schools in the State or States hereafter to be erected," and appro- 
priated $50,000 for the immediate use of schools to be established 
by the legislature. The school lands reserved by this act could 
not be sold, but Congress by Act of March 3, 1891, authorized their 
lease for the benefit of the Territorial School System. (1) 

(1) 26 Stat. L. 1026. 

The first legislature, which was in session in 1890-91, passed 
a detailed school law making the township the local unit of school 
organization, providing for a Territorial board of education and for 
a Territorial superintendent and county superintendents of schools, 
prescribing a system of certification of teachers, and otherwise 
setting the school system in motion under Oklahoma enactments. 
The township form of organization, however, remained in operation 



HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 15 

only two years, for the new school law of 1893, which was in large 
measure the basis of the present school code, displaced the town- 
ship with the district unit of local control, and the latter has re- 
mained to the present time. 

It was in the Territorial period that the State's system of 
higher education had its principal beginnings. The first legisla- 
ture provided for the establishment of the State University at Nor- 
man, the Agricultural and Mechanical College, at Stillwater, and a 
State Normal School at Edmond. Other normal schools were es- 
tablished, respectively, at Alva, in 1897, and at "Weatherford, in 
1901. The Colored Agricultural and Normal University at Langs- 
ton was established in 1897. The University Preparatory School at 
Tonka wa came into existence by legislative act of 1901. 

What may be regarded as the Territorial period in Oklahoma 
can hardly be applied to the Indian Territory, so far as education 
was concerned, for, as Ave have already seen, the w^ant there, of gov- 
ernmental organization other than tribal, rendered the maintenance 
of a proper school system for white children impossible. The 
"Curtis Act" of 1898, however, authorized the incorporation of 
town and the maintenance of town schools, and a number of schools 
of this character were established, but for the rural communities 
there was no legal provision for a public school system for white 
children up to the time of the State's admission. 

THE SCHOOLS UNDER STATEHOOD. 

The Act admitting the State to the Union included several 
important provisions relating to edacation. Forem.ost among these 
was the grant of sections 16 and 36 in each township oC land which 
had been "reserved" for school purposes by the "organic act"; but 
this grant did not apply to the land of the Indian reservations in 
the eastern part of the State. Consequently, "in lieu of sections 
16 and 36 and other lands of the Indian Territory," Congress appro- 
priated $5,000,000 in money for the common schools o: the State 
and provided that this sum sliould be a part of the permanent school 
fund, as should also the proceeds of the sale of the school lands. 

For the benefit of the higher institutions, th*^ act irranted pec- 
tion 13 in each township of certain opened Indian reservations and 
of all other lands opened to settlement in the Territory of Oklahoma. 
These lands were allotted as follows: To the University of Okla- 
homa and the University Preparatory School, one-third ; to the 
normal schools, one-third; to the Agricultural and Mechanical Col- 



16 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

lege and the Colored Agricultural and Normal University, one- 
third. (1) A grant of section 33, previously reserved for charit- 

(1) For statute, see Bunn's Supplement, 191S, sec. 7660. 

able and penal institutions and public buildings, was made, and 
the legislature was authorized to apportion this grant as it saw 
fit (2). 

(2) The legislature In 1911 constituted the proceeds of these lands a "Public 
building fund," and educational institutions have from time to time re- 
ceived parts of this. 

A third important land grant made by the ''Enabling Act" 
was that "in lieu of the grant for purposes of internal improve- 
ment" and of swamp and overflowed lands, which was made for 
educational institutions. This was of certain specific amounts of 
land without regard to their location in townships, as follows: 
The University, 250,000 acres; University Preparatory School, 150,- 
000 acres; Agricultural and Mechanical College, 250,000 acres; Col- 
ored Agricultural and Normal University, 100,000 acres ; normal 
schools, 300,000 acres. Moneys derived from this source came to be 
known as the "New college fund." 

Of the sixteenth and thirty-sixth sections, the State Depart- 
ment of education reported 1,413,862 acres in 1918, and according 
to the same report, the permanent school fund, including the Con- 
gressional appropriation of $5,000,000, then amounted to $12,660,- 
811. 

The "EnaHing Act" also contained the usual provision grant- 
ing an amount equal to 5 per cent of the proeeeds of the sale of 
public lands within the State. The fund thus accruing was "to be 
used as a permanent fund" for the benefit of the common schools. 
LIMITATIONS ON TAX LEVIES. 

The State Constituion as adopted in 1907 contained three ar- 
ticles vitally affecting the school system. These were Article X, 
"Revenue and Taxation"; Article XI, "State and School Lands": 
and Article XIII, "Education". The provisions relating to taxa- 
tion were of the nature of maximum limitations, and school taxes 
were subjected to the limits thus fixed. 

The total permissable State levy was placed at 3 1-2 mills on an 
ad valorem basis, but no State tax specifically for school purposes 
wa's mentioned in this connection. A county tax of two mills was 
authoried "for county high school and aid to the common schools," 



HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 17 

and the provision was added that not over one mill of this could be 
used for high school purposes. District levies, including those of 
town and city districts, were authorized up to 15 mills, and an 
additional ten-mill levy was permitted for building purposes. 

The legislature was empowered to provide for poll taxes on 
voters under 60 years of age, but has never exercised this power. 
An amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1913, provides for a 
tax on public service corporations, and directs that the proceeds' of 
this tax where the corporation operates in more than one county be 
paid into the State common school fund; but the legislature has 
not taken the necessary action to give effect to this amendment. 
In this connection, it may be noted that in 1909, (1) the legislature 

(1) Session Laws of 1909, ch. 38, p. 600. 

provided for a State school tax of one-fourth of one mill. 

Article XI of the Constitution accepted all grants of land and 
moneys made by the United States and pledged the faith of the 
State to preserve these lands and moneys and the proceeds of the 
sale of lands as a sacred trust to be used only for the purposes for 
which they were granted. 

FREE PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR ALL CHILDREN. 
The article on "Education" directed the legislature to estab- 
lish and maintain a system of free public schools for all the chil- 
dren of the State, to establish and inaintain institutions for the 
care and education of the deaf and the blind, to provide separate 
schools for white and colored children, to enact school attendance 
legislation for children between the ages of 8 and 16, to provide for 
a uniform system of text books, and for instruction in the common 
schools in agricultural subjects and household arts. Another pro- 
vision of this article was one for an ex-officio State board of edu- 
cation to have the "supervision of instruction in the public schools" 
and to retain its composition as then prescribed until otherwise pro- 
vided by law. 

Some other important educational provisions of the Constitu- 
tion were those respectively vesting the control of the Agricultural 
and Mechanical College in the State Board of Agriculture, creating 
a board of commissioners of the Land Office to have charge of 
school and other State lands and of the funds derived therefrom, and 
providing for the popular election of a State superintendent of pub- 
lie instruction and a county superintendent in each county. 



18 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

ORGANIZATION AND EXPANSION. 

The first State legislature mot in the fall of 1907, and continued 
in siession until the spring of 1908. This legislature enacted no very 
fundamental amendment of the school law as it existed under ter- 
ritorial government at the time of admission, but some important 
additions to the State's educational system as a whole were made. 
These included provision for the establishment of the Industrial In- 
stitute and College for Girls. (1) The School of Mines and Metal- 

(1) This institution was by Act of March 27, 1909, conditionally located at 
Chickasha, and in 1916, its name was changed to Oklahoma College for 
Women. 

lurgy, at Wilburton, the Oklahoma School for the Deaf, the Okla- 
homa School for the Blind, the Whitaker Orphans' Home at Pry or 
Creek, and an orphans' home for colored children. 

It may be noted here that, with the establishment of the college 
for girls and the school of mines, the system of State-supported 
higher institutions as they exist at present was practically com- 
pleted, though the normal schools at Ada, Durant and Tahlequah 
were not provided for until 1909. It may also be noted that, owing 
to the establishment of the college for girls and the school of mines 
after the admission of the State, these institutions received no Fed- 
eral land grants. 

Among other noteworthy enactments of the first State legisla- 
ture was the Act to put into force Section 7, Article XIII, of the 
Constitution, which requires instruction in agricultural subjects and 
household arts in the common schools, and to provide for the estab- 
lishment and maintenance of courses of such instruction in the nor- 
mal schools, and for the establishment of agricultural schools of sec- 
ondary grade in the several supreme court .judicial districts. The 
four district agricultural schools existing at the present time there- 
fore had their beginning in 1908. 

The act to provide for compulsory school attendance of chil- 
dren between the ages of 8 and 16, in accordance with section 4 of 
Article XTII of the Constitution, was also passed by the first State 
legislature. 

In 1909, when the second legislature was in session, an Act of 
March 8, 1901, authorizing the establishment of a county high school 
in each county of 6,000 inhabitants or more was repealed, but there 
was added a proviso that schools already organized under the re- 
pealed act should not be affected. An important bill which became 



HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 19 

a law at this session was that "to regulate salaries and expenses of 
county superintendents." This provided a salary schedule for 
those officers, the rates of pay being 'based on the population of 
counties, and allowed additional amounts for clerk hire and travel- 
ing expenses. 

Other enactments of thisi legislature provided for the establish- 
ment of three additional State normal schools, the Eastern Univer- 
sity Preparatory School at Claremore, an institution for the feeble- 
minded, and an institution for the deaf, blind, and orphans of the 
colored race. Under the head of "penal institutions," the volume 
of session laws of 1909 contains an act establishing a "State train- 
ing school," an institution designed primarily for delinquent boys, 
'but to which delinquent girls might be committed until such time 
as the board of control, with the approval of the governor, might 
cease to receive girls. Thus was made the beginning of the State's 
system of correctional institutions, of which there are now four. 
THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION. 

The year 1911 was an epochal one for education in Oklahoma. 
The State's educational system had for a period of about five years 
been in the making under Statehood, and all branchesi of a system 
such as is generally found in other states, from the University down 
through teacher-training, correctional, and other special institu- 
tions to the common schools, had been provided for by law. There- 
after there was to be a period of possible expansion and develop- 
ment. 

An important feature of the legislation of this year was that 
the marked decentralization of control of educational institutions 
and affairs now begun to break down. The Act of 1911 which was 
most far reaching in its effect was that "To provide for a State 
board of education." The Constitution had created an ex-officio 
board to continue until otherwise provided by law. The board 
created by this act was to be composed of the Superintendent of 
Public Instruction, ex-officio, and six members appointed by the 
governor for overlapping terms of six years. In addition to having 
general supervision of the public schools, including the formulation 
of courses of study and the certification of teachers, the new board 
succeeded to the older board of education, the text book commis- 
sion, the regents of the University, the regents of the University 
Preparatory Schools at Tonkawa and Claremore, the board of con- 
trol of normal schools, the regents of the Industrial Institute and 



20 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

College for Girls, the regents of the School of Mines and Metallurgy, 
the regents of the Colored Agricultural ana i.>orixiai «^njivorsiiy, and 
the boards of control of the School for the Deaf, the School for 
the Blind, the Boys' Training Schools, the Orphans' Home, the In- 
stitution for the Feeble-minded, and the Institute for the Deaf, 
Blind and Orphans Home for colored children. 

Other important acts of the legislature of 1911 included pro- 
vision for a bond issue of $3,000,000 in anticipation of the growth 
of the "Public building fund" derived from the grant of section 33 
in certain townships of the western part of the State, provision for 
the maintenance of public libraries in cities of over 2,000 inhabit- 
ants, the creation of a State-aid fund to be known as the "Union 
graded and consolidated school fund" from the proceeds of section 
33 in each township of Greer county, and an act making it the duty 
of district boards of consolidated districts to provide transporta- 
tion for pupils living 1 1-2 miles or more from school. 

An act of some importance in the legislation of 1913 was that 
which added to the "Union graded and consolidated school fund" 
the remainder of the "Public building fund" made up of the pro- 
ceeds of the grant of lands in sections numbered 33. This remaind- 
er was not to include amounts necessary to meet outstanding obli- 
gations, and the sum transferred to the imion graded and consolidat- 
ed fund was to be used only to assist in providing buildings in con- 
solidated districts. The legislature of this year also proposed two 
amendments designed to improve the system of school support. 
One of these proposals sought to empower the legislature to levy a 
State school tax and prescribe the manner of apportionment and 
to provide State aid for districts unable with a ten-mill levy to 
maintain school five months ; but this amendment failed when sub- 
mitted to the people. The second proposed amendment provided 
that the tax on public service corporations operating in more than 
one county be paid into the State distributive school fund. This 
was ratified by the people, but the legislature has never passed the 
necessary supplementary legislation. 

The educational legislation of 1913 required more space on the 
printed page than that of 1911, but one may seriously question 
whether it was more important. Oklahoma enacted its "new school 
code" in 1913, but this was marked by no especially progressive 
features or basic changes of any kind. Some of its important omis- 
sions may serve to indicate its general character. The State's share 



HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 21 

of the burden of school support was uot increased ; the school term 
remained too short as under older laws; school attendance was re- 
quired for only 66 per cent of the term ; district boards* were left 
without authority to provide free textbooks for any except indigent 
children; provisions for schoolhouse planning and the construction 
of rural school houses in particular remained inadequate; high 
school provisions fell considerably short of the need, as shown by 
later enrollment; the district system of local control was. left un 
changed; the sections on transportation in consolidated districts 
merely directed the school board to furnish conveyance for pupils 
living more than two miles from school; the want of authority to 
maintain school libraries was still evident as under the older law. 

Coming to the year 1915, we find noteworthy acts relating to 
high sichools and to consolidated school districts. The former act 
authorized the State Superintendent to issue teachers' certificates 
to graduates of the district agricultural schools and fully accredit- 
ed high schools where the courses offered, including pedagogical 
training, met the approval of the Superintendent ; and thus teacher 
training in schools of secondary grade was encouraged. 

Three acts related to consolidation and transportation. By 
these the procedure in effecting consolidation was revised. State 
aid was extended to schools with two teachers; districts were auth- 
orized to provide conveyance for pupils under ten years of age re- 
siding less than two miles from school, the requirement of convey- 
ance for all pupils residing more than two miles being left intact; 
and union graded districts were authorized to provide high school 
work. Another act of 1915 authorized the State Superintendent 
to issue certificates valid for teaching in high schools to graduates 
of approved higher institutions of learning. The establishment 
of a State Training School for delinquent negro boys was author- 
ized in this year. 

At a special session of the legislature held in 1916, a ''gross 
production tax" was provided for. This is a tax on the produc- 
tion of asphalt, certain metal-bearing ores, crude oils, and natural 
gas. The proceeds are distributed as follows: Two-thirds for 
current expenses of the State government, one-sixth for roads and 
bridges, and one-sixth "in aid of the common schools" of the 
counties in which it accrues. 

School laws passed by the legislature of 1917 made no funda- 
mental change in the State's educational system, but various sub- 



22 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

jects of legislation were treated. It was provided that no district 
maintaining school less than three months should receive any State 
or county school funds; and another act repealed the act of 1913 
which transferred to the "Union graded and consolidated school 
fund" the remainder of the "Public building fund." 

An important act pertaining to higher education was that 
which authorized certain designated institutions to confer degrees 
and empowered the State Board of Education to approve other 
institutions for degree-conferring purposes. Military and athletic 
training was provided for in the high schools, and competitive 
drills and contests were authorized under the supervision of a 
board created for that purpose. The provisions of the "Smith 
Hughes Act" of congress providing for the promotion of vocation- 
al education in the States were assented to, and a "State Board 
of vocational education" was created. This legislature provided for 
the establishment of two more correctional institutions — one for 
white girls and one for colored girls. The West Oklahoma Home 
for White Children was also provided for in 1917, the Connell 
School of Agriculture being converted into this home for Orphans. 

SEPARATE BOARDS OF TRUSTEES PROVIDED. 
As the year 1911 showed a marked tendency toward central- 
ization of administrative control and supervision of the State's 
educational system, so the year 1919, showed a tendency back to- 
ward decentralization. For every State institution of higher learn- 
ing, excepting the Agricultural and Mechanical College, which re- 
mained under the State Board of Agriculture and the normal 
schools which the State Board of Education retained, a separate 
board of regents was created; and the Oklahoma Military Acad- 
emy (1) and the School of Mines at Miami which were established 

(1) Prior to this time, the Eastern University Preparatory School. 

in this year were each provided with its o^vn administrative board, 
as was also the University Preparatory School at Tonkawa. Nor 
did decentralization stop with the higher or academic institutions. 
a "board of managers" was created to have the "general manage- 
ment and supervision" of the State's four correctional institutions, 
the two orphans' homes for white children, and the Deaf, Blind 
and Orphans Home for Colored Children. As a last step in the 
decentralizing process the State Board of Public Affairs was made 
the board of control of the Institution for the Feeble-Minded. 
Thus the State Board of Education, which had for eight years ex- 



HISTORICAL. BACKGROUND 23 

■ercised general administrative control over the State's entire sys- 
tem of educational institutions, was now left with only the normal 
schools and the schools for the blind and the deaf white children. 

Legislation of 1919 which affected the public schools was like- 
wise important; some new phases of legislation appeared at this 
time. One of the most important acts of the new group was that 
relating to the construction of school buildings. It fixed certain 
standards and provided that ajl school houses costing more than 
$400 must conform to those standards. The State Superintendent 
was directed to prepare and furnish plans in accordance with this. 
act. 

Other acts of 1919, which are noteworthy as presenting new 
phases of legislation in this State, were the teachers' pension law^ 
providing a State teachers' retirement and disability fund, and 
the continuation school law, requiring certain districts to main- 
tain part-time schools or classics, and making attendance thereon 
compusory for employed minors between 16 and 18 years of age 
and with educational qualification below two years of high school 
work. A compulsory attendance law of this year requires attend- 
ance of minors between the ages of 16 and 18 unless they have 
completed the work of the eighth grade and are lawfully employed 
or unless the work of the high school has been completed, but 
this law requires attendance for only two-thirds of the term. 

The County high school again made its appearance in Okla- 
homa law in 1919. An act of that year authorized any county 
having scholastic population less than 2,000 to establish and main- 
tain a high school. 

The State's system of aid to rural schools was temporarily 
improved in 1919 when the legislature provided out of general 
State funds additional aid amounting to $100,000 for each of the 
fiscal years, 1920 and 1921. An appropriation of $185,000 for the 
same purpose was made by the legislature of 1921 for the fiscal 
year ending on June 30 of that calendar year, but with the allow- 
ance then extended this source of State aid for rural education 
was discontinued. 

With the adjournment of the legislature of 1919, the Okla- 
homa educational system, as constituted at present was practically 
completed, for the legislature of 1921 effected nothing fundament- 
al in the system. The Panhandle Agricultural Institute at Good- 
well was raised to junior college grade, and a few other acts of 



24 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

some importance was passed, but on the whole tne legislature left 
the schools about as it found them. A constitutional amendment 
proposed by this legislature would raise from 15 to 25 mills the 
permissible district levy for school maintenance, but the Governor 
has not as yet (July 1922) submitted this amendment to a vote of 
the people. 

PRESENT SYSTEM IN PERSPECTIVE. 
After tracing the development of the Oklahoma education^* 
system, the following general observations are suggested : 

1. The system is not homogeneous. As one studies educa- 
tion in Oklahoma, the impression comes that many of its parts 
*'just happened that way," or that they came into existence as 
matters of expediency. True, the State has had a varied career 
particularly in the days when it was merely the Indian Territory, 
"No Man's Land" and what not; and its population comes from 
various races and various lands, but with 15 years of Statehood 
now in history, the State's School system still displays a want of 
homogenity that is hardly less than subsersive of the best in educa- 
tional provision. 

2. Closely related to this want is the palpable absence of 
'Consistency of educational policy. As an example of this, note 
the trend toward centralization of educational control in 1911, 
.and th,e very opposite trend eight years later. Another example 
is seen in the embarkation upon a policy of maintaining district 
agricultural schools of secondary grade, and the conversion later 
of two of these schools into institutions of other types; and still 
another, in the adoption by the people of a constitutional amend- 
ment applying to the schools the proceeds of a tax on public ser- 
vice corporations, and the subsequent failure of the legislature to 
make this tax available for the .schools. 

3. Oklahoma is one of the few States in whieh the State as 
:such contributes very little toward the maintenance of its common 
schools. Of the total school funds provided by State, counties, 
;and local districts, the State's contribution is only about 31-3 per 
>cent. And when Federal contribution is considered, it is found 
that the National Government is paying, through land and money 
grants heretofore made, more than three times as much as the 
State itself pays for common school education within its borders. 
This comparison is only the more striking when it is remembered 
that at leasit three well defined efforts have been made in Okla- 



HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 25 

homa to increase the State's share of the burden of public school 
support, and all of these have come to naught. 

4. The district system of local school administration is seen 
in Oklahoma in its strongest form. Both the power of control and 
the burden of support lie heavily on the district. With respect to 
control, every local community is allowed wide discretion. Dis- 
trict taxes are limited as to the maximum rate, hut no minimum is 
fixed, and in consequence a district may provide a very short school 
term, in fact, may receive State funds for a term as short as three 
months and niggardliness may be evinced in other ways. No coun- 
ty board is given adminisitrative functions in connection with the 
common schools ; and districts, far from being required to perform 
certain important functions as in some other States, are not even 
authorized by law to perform them. For example, free textbooks 
for other than indigent pupils, and the proper care of the health 
of the school child, are not provided for by law. As regards school 
support, the local community in Oklahoma is paying about 80 
per cent of the total cost of its school, and as a result inequality 
of educational opportunity obtains in the State. 

5. It has been seen that the Oklahoma Constitution contains 
numerous provisions that might have been left to statutory law. 
Among these, as many authorities on school administration would 
hold, is the provision for the popular election of the State Super- 
intendent of Public Instruction, and county superintendents in the 
counties. Under the Oklahoma plan, the State Superintendent, an of- 

• ficer elected by popular vote, and therefore subject to the hazards 
and influences of partisan politics, is president of the State board 
of education and head of the State's educational system. County 
superintendents, likewise elected and amenable to political vicissi- 
tudes, have no county administrative boards associated with them. 
The State's plan of school administration is, therefore, open to crit- 
icism as lacking proper organization and co-ordination. 

Under the circumstances, the Oklahoma school system is prob- 
ably as good as should have been expected; that it is not so good 
as the people of a large and promising State should wish is shown 
in other parts of this report. 



CHAPTER III. 
PKOBLEMS OF FINANCING PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 

THE PRESENT SITUATION. 

No one realizes better than the citizens of Oklahoma them- 
selves that the financial situation of the pu'blic schools is far from 
satisfactory. In 1920 the people of Oklahoma voted on a pro- 
posed amendment to the Constitution which would have authorized 
the State Board of Equalization to levy not to exceed six mills tax 
on all property of the State for the support of the public schools. 
This amendment was defeated. In 1922 an effort was made to 
raise the present constitutional limit of 15 mills to 25 mills. This 
amendment was lost. What is the present situation? From every 
part of the State come reports of inadequate funds, shortened 
school terms, underpaid and untrained teachers. Over against 
these conditions is placed the fact that Oklahoma's expenditures 
for public schools during the last decade have risen by leaps and 
bounds. In 1910 Oklahoma spent approximately $6,700,000 for 
public schools. In 1920 she spent more than three times as much ; 
namely, $22,900,000. In 1910 she spent approximately $16 for 
each child enrolled in school; in 1920, approximately $39. In 
1910 she had invested in school property approximately $13,000,000 
in 1920, nearly $36,000,000. 

Figure 2, which follows, shows, in a concrete way how enor- 
mous this increase in investment and expenditures has actually 
been. Table 1 shows the same facts in a somewhat different form, 
together with the per cent of im-rease in each item. 



26 



PROBLEMS OF FINANCING PUBLIC SCHOOLS 



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28 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

TABLE 1. 
Oklahoma's Increase in Expenditure and Investment for 

Public Schools. 
1910—1920 

Expenditure Value of Public School 

Property 
Year Total Per child Total Per child 

i ! enrolled enrolled 

1920 $22,906,219 ' $38.87 $35,895,481 $61.00 

1910 : 6,739,216 ' 15.95 13,310,040 32.00 

Increase- _$i6,167,003 $22.92 $22,585,441 $29.00 

Per cent of 

Increase-- 239.9 143.7 169.7 90.6 

I^atio of 
1920 to 1910 

3.40 2.43 2.70 1^1 

For every dollar which Oklahoma spent on Public Schools in 1910 
she spent $3.40 in 1920. 

For every dollar which Oklahoma invested in Public School prop- 
erty in 1910 she had $2.70 invested in 1920. 

ABILITY VERSUS EFFORT TO PROVIDE SCHOOLS. 

Table 3, which follows, shows for the year 1920-21 how much 
Oklahoma spent for all types of public schools, rural and city, col- 
ored and white, together with her expenditures for maintaining the 
State Department of Education, Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion, and county superintendents. It should be noted that many of 
the expenditures included in these last three items do not appear in 
the amounts shown in the bienniel reports of the Superintendent of 
Public Instruction. The salaries and expensesi of county superin- 
tendents are paid out of the county general funds, not out of the 
school funds. A number of appropriations made to the State Board 
of Education, as well as funds derived from private sources, such 
as the General Education Board and Rosenwald Fund, are not in- 
cluded in the ordinary statements. In table 3, however, all money's , 
devoted to public schools, from whatever source derived, are in- 
cluded. 



PROBLEMS OF FINANCING PUBLIC SCHOOLS 29 

TABLE 2. 

Public School Expenditures in Oklahoma. 
1920 - 1921 

All schools, rural and city, colored and white; and all 
superintendents' offices, state, county and city. 

Elementary High Amount Per cent 

General control $ 1,026,449.72 3.76 

Instructional 

Service $13,871,477.17 .$3,045,837.13 16,917,314.30 53.83 

Operation of 

Plant 1,492,060.13 345,897.95 1,837,958.08 5.84 

Maintenance of 

Plant 1,272,287.03 195,883.40 1,468,170.43 4.71 

Fixed Charges: 

Rent & Insurance 263,370.22 50,077.99 313,448.21 .99 

Capital Outlay 2,149,924.72 1,856,956.21 4,006,880.93 12.75 

Auxiliary 

Agencies — __ 762,657.01 200,992.73 963,649.74 3.16 

Total $26,778,094.64 

Debt s.ervice (Int. and reserve) 4,642,136.84 14.96 

Grand Total $31,420,231.48 100.00 

ABILITY VERSUS EFFORT TO PROVIDE SCHOOLS. 
Figure 2 and the two preceding tables show not only that Ok- 
lahoma is spending a large amount of money for public schools, but 
that she has made vast increase in expenditures during the last 
eleven years. In view of the unsatisfactoriness of the situation 
and the conditions now confronting hundreds and hundreds of dis- 
tricts throughout the State, a question far more important than 
how much Oklahoma has increased her expenditures for public 
schools is how does the amount compare with her ability to provide 
school revenue. Is the financial crisis which the public schools are 
facing inevitable? Is Oklahoma exerting herself to the full meas- 
ure of her ability? 

The ability of a State, a county, or a district to provide schools 
does not depend chiefly upon its total assessed valuation. If two 
districts each have a valuation of $20,000, and one of these districts 
has to educate 50 children, and the other, 150 children, it is easy to 
see it would be very unfair to consider them equally able to pro- 
vide schools of the same standard. One of these districts ought to pro- 
vide at least two teachers, the other, at least six, allowing twenty- 



30 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

five pupils per teacher. For this reason, it is customary to take as 
the measure of the ability of a State, a county, or a school district to 
provide schools its wealth per child. We may regard the wealth 
of the state, county or district as a bank account upon which it may 
draw for the support of public schools, and the wealth per child as 
the bank account upon which it may draw for the education of each 
child. 

OKLAHOMA COMPARED WITH OTHER STATES. 

One way of answering the question whether Oklahoma is exert- 
ing herself in proportion to her abilit}^ is to compare her with other 
States. In making such a comparison it would, of course, be thor- 
oughly unsound to take the assessed valuation as a measure, for in 
some States the assessed valuation represents the actual selling 
price. (That is, 100 per cent of the true valuation) of property. 
In other States property is assessed at 60 per cent, and in still others 
at 30 per cent, and even 20 per cent of true value. For this reason 
we shall take the estimated true wealth per child of school age as a 
measure of ability. As a measure of effort we shall take the amount 
expended for public schools on each $1,000 of true estimated wealth. 
STATES SELECTED FOR COMPARISON 

The question at once arises, with which States in the Union 
ought Oklahoma to be compared? 

Oklahoma entered the LTnion less than twenty years ago, and 
was given a vast endowment in lands and moneys, for supporting 
public schools. This endowment has steadily increased. Moreover, 
from the start she has believed whole heartedly in public, universal 
education, and has had no battle to fight against organized opposi- 
tion to the public school idea. In view of all these facts, we may 
say that there is only one satisfactory basis upon which we may 
make our selection of States for comparison : Namely, ability to 
provide school revenues, as represented by estimated true wealth 
per child, 5 to 18 years of age. On this nasis Oklahoma ranks 
twelfth. Professor F. F. Blachly of the University of Oklahoma 
in his monogj-apli The Financial System of the State of Oklahoma, 
Chajjter 1, shows that Oklahoma ranks fourth as to estimated wealth 
per capita of total population and that 25 States had a greater net 
debt per capita. 

In Table 3, which follows, Oklahoma is compared with six 
other States which rank respectively, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18, as to 
estimated true wealth per school child. 



PROBLEMS OF FINANCING PUBLIC SCHOOLS 31 



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32 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

From Table 3 we see that in the group of seven States, among 
which Oklahoma ranks first as to ability to provide school revenues, 
she ranks seventh as to the effort she is making ; seventh as to the 
amount of money she is expending on each child enrolled ; seventh 
as to the per cent of population 5-18 years of age, who are attending 
school; and seventh as to the average number of days attended by 
each pupil enrolled. In all these respects she ranks at the very 
bottom of the scale. Indeed, she ranks lowest in every item except 
one; namely, the average annual salary of teachers, and in this re- 
spect she ranks next to the lowest. 

It is evident that, in proportion to her ability, Oklahoma is mak- 
ing far less effort than other States in the Union with which she 
ought to be compared. Let it he borne in mind that every State with 
which we have compared her ranks lower in ability, as well as high- 
er in effort and results. Let us now ask the same question regard- 
ing Oklahoma when compared with the United States as a whole. 
Table 4 answers this question. 

TABLE 4. 

Where Oklahoma Stands Among- the 48 States as to 

Ability, Effort, and Results (1920) 

Ability Rank in United States. 

Estimated true wealth 

Per child (a) $12,468 12 

Per capita (b) 3,821 14 

Effort 

Expenditure for Education for each $1,000 « 

of the estimated true wealth 2.88 42 

Amount expended per child enrolled 38.87 34 

Value of school property per child enrolled, 

5-18 years 61.00 37 

Results Rank in United States 

Per cent of population, 5-18 years attending 

schools 72.5 33 

Per cent of enrollment in average daily at- 
tendance 60.4 48 

Average number of days attended by each 

pupil enrolled 100.5 38 

(a) 5-18 years. 

(b) Total population, 1919. 



PROBLEMS OF FINANCING PUBLIC SCHOOLS 33 

From Table 4 we see that whereas Oklahoma ranks twelfth in 
the United States with respect to her abilitj^ to provide school rev- 
enue, she ranks forty-second as to her expenditure for each $1,000 
of estimated true wealth ; thirty-fourth as to the amount which she 
expends per child enrolled; and thirty-seventh as to the value of 
her school property per child enrolled. In education, as in other 
stable enterprises, we get what we pay for. This statement is 
borne out by the results which Oklahoma secures, for we discover 
that with respect to the percent of population which is attending 
school she ranks thirty-third in the Union ; thirty-eighth as to the 
average number of days attended by each pupil; and forty-eighth, 
or lowest, as to the per cent of enrollment which is in average daily 
attendance. 

EQUALITY IN EDUCATION. 

Every great American Democrat, from Thomas Jefferson to 
Woodrow Wilson, has insisted that without a system of free uni- 
versal education, democracy is doomed. Equality in education is a 
brief, but accurate statement of the supreme educational purpose 
of every State in our union. 

Even approximate equality in education can never be secured 
throughout a State, until school revenues, and school burdens are 
equalized. 

The extent to which school revenues are equalized will depend 
upon at least three things : First, the equality in ability of the local 
units which furnish the revenues (In Oklahoma districts and Coun- 
ties) ; Second, the comparative effort made by such local units to 
provide revenues; and, third, the extent to which the State evens 
out inequalities in ability and effort existing among the local units. 

"We must pause, therefore, at this point to consider briefly the 
situation with regard to these factors in Oklahoma. 

CONDITIONS IN NINE REPRESENTATIVE COUNTIES. 

In order to gain an accurate idea of the actual conditions an 
intensive study was made of nine representative counties. These 
counties were selected on the basis of their ability to provide school 
revenues ; i. e., on a basis of wealth per school child in average daily 
attendance. 

The counties selected include the three richest, three poorest, 
and three of middle rank, as measured by their wealth per child. 

s. s. 2 



34 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

Table 5 shows the nine counties selected, the wealth per child, 
and the rank of each county among Oklahoma's 77 counties on the 
basis selected. 

TABLE 5. 
Nine Representative Oklahoma Counties. 

(Selection based on ability to provide school revenues.) 

Wealth Per Child or 
Ability to Provide Schools. 

Rank among 
State's 77 

County Amount Counties 

Cimarron ^1^10,039.00 1 

Grant 9,022.00 2 

Alfalfa 7,268.00 3 

Cotton 3,985.00^ , 38 

Kiowa 3,571.00 39 

Carter 3,284.00 40 

LeFlore 2,233.00 75 

McCurtain 1,982.00 • 76 

Haskell 1,590.00 77 

Table 5 shows us that Cimarron County is more than five times 
as able to provide school revenues as McCurtain, six times as able as 
Haskell, and nearly three times as able as Kiowa. In view of these, 
and other wide variations revealed by Table 5, it would be reason- 
able to expect that the expenditures for public schools would vary 
widely also. 

This expectation is borne out by the facts, thus: Whereas, 
Cimarron County spends $97.00 for every child in average daily at- 
tendance: IMcCurtain County and Haskell spends approximately 
$35.00; Carter County $71.00; Kiowa County $43.00; and Cotton 
County $40.00. 

It would seem reasonable, also, to assume that the expenditure 
for public schools in various counties would be directly proportioned 
to their wealth. How far this is from being the case is discovered 
as soon asi we turn our attention to this point. Thus, Carter Coun- 
ty, which in our group of nine, ranks sixth as to ability, ranks fourth 
as to its expenditure per child; Grant County which ranks second 
as to ability, ranks third in expenditures, and is almost equaled by 
Carter County. 



PROBLEMS OF FINANCING PUBLIC SCHOOLS 



35 



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ance, and their total expenditure per child. 



:<« 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 





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In Figure 4 we have two upright bars for each county. The 
first of these bars represent the county's wealth per child in average 
daily attendance; i. e., it's ability to provide school revenues. The 
second bar represents the average school tax levied by the district 
within the county. 

From Figure 4 we see that, with the exception of Cimarron 
County and Carter County as ability (i.e. wealth) decreases effort 
(i. e. the average tax rate) increases. The situation in Carter Coun- 
ty is due to the fact that she receives, from the gross production 
tax on oil, nearly $15.00 per child. 



PROBLEMS OF FINANCING PUBLIC SCHOOLS 



37 



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Figure 5 enables us to compare even more accurately the ef- 
forts to provide school revenues, which are being put forth by these 
nine counties. 



38 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



EXTREMES OF TAX LEVIES FOR SCHOOL PURPOSES. 

Fi'om Figure 5 we see that one district out of each one-hundred 
districts in Grant County levies no school tax whatever ; in Cimarron 
and Cotton two; and LeFlore eight. Only three out of each one- 
hundred districts in Grant County levy a tax of more than ten mills, 
whereas, in the three poorest counties in the State — McCurtain, Le- 
Flore and Haskell — we discover eighty-five out of each one-hundred 
in McCurtain; sixt}' out of each one-hundred in LeFlore; and eighty- 
six out of each one-hundred in Haskell. The climax of the situation 
is reached in Haskell County where forty-two districts out of each 
one-hundred exceed the lawful limit of fifteen mills. I^he fifteen 
mill limit is exceeded in certain other counties as well, and this is 
probably due to including in the computation levies for interest 
charges and sinking funds. 

The 3tory or Oklahoma'5 School Burdens 
TOLD IN NiNL Chapters 
(Rural and Village Di5Trict3 Only) 
- A5 Wealth Decreases 3cuool Taxes Increase - 



6.4 mi-lb 



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6Counli(25 tlCounhes TCounfic? 2 Counties 



Average Dislrict Levy Typical \bluarion per Child 
in Milb in Average Daily Attendanoz 

FIGURE 6 



PROBLEMS OF FINANCING PUBLIC SCHOOLS 39 

The complete story of Oklahoma school burdens is told in nine 
chapters in Figure 6. 

Figure 6 shows the counties of Oklahoma arranged in nine 
groups. The small white square represents the average valuation 
per child of counties included in each group. Resting on each 
square isi a figure representing the average school tax levied by rur- 
al and village districts of the counties included in the group. The 
lowest tax is that levied in Gai-field County, which has the highest 
valuation per child of all the groups. Turning to the second chap- 
ter of our story we find six counties with the average valuation per 
child of $6,500.00. The average tax levied by districts in these coun- 
ties is 5.1 mills. From this point on, with the exception of the fifth 
chapter, the story is the same. The lower the valuation, i. e., the 
less the ability, the heavier is the burden, which must be borne un- 
der Oklahoma's present system of school finance. 

CONDITIONS IN SCHOOL DISTRICTS. 

We have seen how enormous are the inequalities among coun- 
ties as to wealth, expenditures, and taxation for public schools. The 
situation is even worse among the districts within the counties. 
Tliis will be discovered by comparing the richest and poorest school 
districts in counties which we have already compared with one an- 
other. The reports of the Superintendent of Public Instruction 
group Oklahoma school districts into two general classes. First : 
Rural and village districts; Second: Independent districts. 

Figure 7 shows how the richest and poorest rural school dis- 
tricts in five Oklahoma Counties compare in the year 1921-22, as to 
ability to support schools, i. e., wealth per child, and as to the ef- 
fort they made to provide schools, as measured by the district school 
tax. 



40 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



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PROBLEMS OF FINANCING PUBLIC SCHOOLS 41 

TABLE 6. 

Oklahoma Counties Arranged in Nine Groups on Basis of Valuation 

Together with Average District Tax Rate Levied by Common 

School Districts in Each Group. 







Typical Valuation 


Average 








per Child 


District 




Number of 




of Counties 


Tax Rate 


Group 


Counties 




in Group A 


(Mills) 


1 


1 (Garfield) 


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3.7 


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6 




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13 




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4,600 


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12 




4,500 


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6 


8 




3,800 


8.6 . 


7 


21 




3,200 


11.8 


8 


7 




2,600 


10.5 


9 


2 




2,200 


14.5 



(A) Valuation employed here is the approximate median valuation. 

Figure 7 shows that whereas the richest rural district in Grant 
County has $82,000 back of each school child, the poorest has only 
$3,000. In 1922 the richest district in this county levied a tax of 5 
mills; the poorest levied a tax of more than 9 mills. In Ejowa 
County the richest district has back of each child $20,000 and levies 
a tax of less than 5 mills ; the poorest has back of each child only 
$2,000 and levies a tax of 15 mills. 

It is in Haskell County again where we find the heaviest tax 
rate levied. The richest district in Haskell County has back of 
each child only .$7,000, yet, levies a tax of 21 mills ; the poorest has 
back of each child only $1,000, yet, levies a tax of 16 mills. It is 
unnecessary to prolong our discussion of Figure 7, the facts are too 
evident to need enlarging upon. 

Attention, however, may w^ll be called to at least one more sit- 
uation. The richest district in Grant County is eighty-two times as 
able to provide school revenues, as the poorest in Haskell County, 
yet, it levies a tax of less than one-third the rate levied liy this poor- 
-est of all districts. 



42 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



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pendent school districts, told in Figure 8. 



PROBLEMS OF FINANCING PUBLIC SCHOOLS 43 

CAUSES OF OKLAHOMA'S EDUCATIONAL BACKWARDNESS. 

Space does not permit us to continue further our account of 
county and district inequalities in ability and effort to provide 
schools. We have seen that this fair and wealthy State cannot 
stand comparison with many States of less wealth, States which 
every loyal citizen would claim Oklahoma ought to outclassi in edu- 
cational achievements. More than this, we have seen that com- 
pared with the United States as a whole Oklahoma ranks very low 
as to the per cent of her school population which is actually attend- 
ing school (33d), lower still with respect to the average number of 
days attended by each pupil enrolled (38th), and the lowest in the 
Union with respect to the percentage of enrollment which is in av- 
erage daily attendance. 

Let us now ask what are the chief causes of this deplorable 
educational situation. We answer without a moment's hesitation: 
(1) A defective system of taxation. (2) A system of school fin- 
ance Avhich makes it absolutely impossible to provide adequate 
school funds. (3) The district system. (4) An unscientific 
method of apportioning the State funds, which ignores both the 
ability and the effort of the local units. 

In 1920 Oklahoma ranked twelfth with respect to her wealth 
per child. Li that same year she spent for each child in average 
daily attendance $64.00, and ranked thirtieth. Had she ranked 
twelfth with respect to expenditures as well as wealth it would 
have been necessary for her to spend $90.00 per child, instead of 
$64.00. 

There is not a State in the Union which can provide adequate 
school facilities under a system which depends for three-fourths of 
her revenue upon school districts, and which limits thes'e districts 
to a 15 mill, or even a 30 mill tax. 

NON-TAXABLE INDL\N LANDS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR. 

The difficulty of the situation is greatly increased, owing to the 
fact that there are within the State of Oklahoma approximately 6,- 
700,000 acres of land owned by unnaturalized Indians, and which 
lands therefore are not subject to taxation. It is estimated that a 
le^'y of 10 mills on these lands (the average rate of s»chool tax for 
1922) would produce an annual revenue of $1,228,000. The paltry 
sum, ten cents per day, paid by the United States goversiment for 



44 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

the tuition of Indian children attending public schools, does not 
meet the actual costs of such tuition. Moreover, the federal appor- 
tionment is so inadequate that it has been necessary during the past 
year to pro rate it, with the result that in Eastern Oklahoma the 
second quota amounted to approximately five cents per day, instead 
of ten cents. Oklahoma should take steps at once to secure from 
the federal government an appropriation Avhich will adequately re- 
imburse her for the revenue of which her schools are being deprived 
under the existing system. It is hardly conceivable that, if the facts 
were laid before Congress, that that body would refuse to recognize 
the federal government's obligation. 



DEFECTS OF DISTRICT ORGANIZATION. 

It has been pointed out that one of the chief causes of Oklaho- 
ma's deplorable educational situation is the district system. "We 
may well add that the district system is the. most important of all 
these causes, and is also the fundamental defect underlying all 
others. That Oklahoma's system of school support is essentially 
a district system is shown by Figure 9 and Table 8, which follow, 
and which show that in 1921 the school districts in Oklahoma fur- 
nished $77.00 out of every $100.00 provided for public schools. 



TABLE 8. 
Annual Receipts for Oklahoma Common Schools 1920-21 

Funds Amount (a) Per Cent (b) 

Federal $ 322,151.56 1 

State 2,125,399.10 9 

County 3,201,492.50 13 

District 18,831,736.53 77 

Private 10,125.00 Less than 5-100 



of 1 per cent (c) 



Total $24,490,904.69 



(a) Compiled upon basis of unpublished data furnished by State Department 
of Education. 

(b) Computed. 

(c) Approximately 0.04 per cent. 



PROBLEMS OF FINANCING PUBLIC SCHOOLS 



46 



WHezrc each ^100 roR Oklahoma^ 
Public 5CH00L5 came trom in 19?0-192I 




FIGURE 9 



There are in Oklahoma at the present time over 5,000 rural 
school districts and nearly 300 independent districts. It would be 
almost impossible to think of a more cumbersome system, or one 
which by its very nature would breed and perpetuate greater in- 
equalities of every sort. Not only do these districts vary greatly in 
size and in wealth, iDut they vary greatly also in their intelligence 
respecting the importance of education, their zeal for the same, and 
their desire to support schools. 



46 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

Under Oklahoma's present district system communities which 
so desire may refrain from voting any school district tax whatso- 
ever, and need maintain no school. This is the actual situation 
which is found every year in certain districts. We have seen, more- 
over, that wealthy districts levy in many eases exceedingly low 
taxes, whereas the poorest districts in some counties levy taxes ex- 
ceeding the limits established by law. Again we discover these 
poorest of districts, which desire to provide good schools, have so 
little wealth to draw upon, after having exerted themselves to the 
utmost of their a'bility, are utterly unable to provide good schools. 

Table 9 shows the school term of 5,014 village and rural white 
districts in the year 1921 ; the number of districts maintaining 
school sessions, varying all the way from three to ten months; and 
the per cent of the total number of districts maintaining schools 
within the limits indicated. 

TAELE 9. 

School Term of 5,014 Oklahoma Village and Rural White District 

Schools 1920-21 (a) 

School Year 

Months 3456789 10 

Number of 

Districts 23 46 170 811 1274 2018 669 3 

Per cent b .9 3 16 25 40 13 b 

School Year 

Months 3-5 3-6 3-7 

Number of 

Districts out of 5 21 46 

Each 100 main-__ (239) (1,050) (2.324) 

taining the same. 
Note : 

(a) Compiled directly from reports of County Superintendents on file with 
State Department of Education. 

(b) Less than one-half of one per cent. 



PROBLEMS OF FINANCING PUBLIC SCHOOLS 47 

LENGTH OF SCHOOL TERM. 

Iji the year 1920 the average length of school year in the United 
States was 8.1 months. Data for 1921 for the United States as a 
whole are not available. If they were, we would undoubtedly find 
that the average length of school year had increased. Yet in the 
year of 1921 in Oklahoma there were more than 1000 village and 
rural white districts which maintained school for six months or less. 
In five districts out of every hundred in the State the school year 
did not exceed five months. In twenty-one districts out of every 
hundred it did not exceed six months, and forty-six districts out of 
every hundred (nearly one-half the entire number) it did not ex- 
ceed seven months. 

Six States in the Union, (one-eighth of the total number), each 
of which had less wealth per child than Oklahoma, maintained in 
the year 1920 a school year of nine months or longer. These States 
together with their length of school year and national rank as to 
wealth per child are shown in Table 10. 

Six States, one-eighth of the total number in the Union, having 
less wealth per child than Oklahoma, have an average school year 
of nine months or more. 

TABLE 10. 

Oklahoma Compared with Six Other States as to Wealth Per 

Child and Length of School Year. 

STATES Average length of Rank Among 48 States 

School Year (d) as to Estimated True 

Months Wealth per Child 

1920 5-18 years (d) 

United States 8.1 e (162) 

Oklahoma (c) (b) 8.3 e (166) 12 

New Jersey 9.5 16 

Connecticut 9.2 19 

Massachusetts 9.0 26 

Rhode Island 9.1 33 

Maryland 9.0 35 

Delaware 9.1 37 

c. Computed. 

d. Bureau of Education. Bulletin, 1922, No. 29, Table 9, Column 9. 

e. Days. 

f. 1921. 



48 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

RANDOM EXAMPLES OF UNSATISFACTORY CONDITIONS. 

Other sections of this report describe the concrete situation 
found in schools visited by members of the Survey Stafi'. At the 
risk of repetition it may not be amiss to point out a few pertinent 
facts here. Stress has been laid from time to time upon the unusual 
progress made by Oklahoma in the matter of consolidated schools. 
This is a movement undoubtedly deserving the highest commenda- 
tion. Yet, when we discover that in Roger Mills County from $40 
to $60 out of every $100 spent for maintenance is used to pay the 
costs of transportation, the matter assumes a somewhat different 
light. In one school visited it was discovered that the last busses 
for returning the pupils to their homes did not leavQ the school 
house until 6 P. M. One hundred pupils were compelled to remain 
from four to six o'clock. At Delhi, in Beckham County, the first 
busses leave the pupils homes at 6 :30 A. M. To come within the lim- 
its of taxation, due to the high cost of transportation, school terms 
are shortened, and cheap, totally unfit teachers are employed. 

Oklahoma has every reason to 'be proud of many of her schools 
and many of her teachers, but when we find dirty school houses in 
charge of equally dirty teachers we realize the necessity of radical 
changes. One of the most _ striking examples reported was in a 
consolidated school where the course in home economics was in 
charge of a man w^hose grimy countenance, • dirty hands, filthy 
clothes, were a caricature and an affront to homemaking 

The law definitely requires every school in the State to own 
and display a United States flag. (See School Laws of Oklahoma, 
1921, Section 322.) More than this, the law provides a fine of not 
less than $10 nor more than $100 shall be imposed for the violation 
of this law. Yet, out of seventeen consolidated schools visited, 
only three had flags. This is a striking example of the impossibility 
of meeting the legal requirements as to supplies under Oklahoma's 
present system of school finance. 

Some school districts which levy no tax are perhaps districts in 
which no children of school age reside, but this situation brings out 
one of the greatest faults of the district system ; namely, that it per- 
mits property in such districts which ought to be available as a 
source of school revenue to escape any contribution for school pur- 
poses. There is no more reason why property within a school dis- 
trict in which no school children reside should escape couti'ibuting 



PROBLEMS OF FINANCING PUBLIC SCHOOLS 49 

its just quota to the support of schools within the County of the 
State than that the property of a childless couple who live within 
a district should go untaxed for school purposes. 

Education is a function of the State. The powers and responsi- 
bilities possessed by school districts are, strictly speaking, delegated 
to them by the sovereign authority, the State. The wealth of the 
entire State belongs to the State and should be utilized by the State 
to provide adequate school facilities for her children. 

THE DISTRICT SYSTEM IS NOT DEMOCRATIC. 

Any suggestion to abolish the district system arouses an out- 
cry from many admirers of this century-old institution. Some of 
those who champion it most stoutly do so in the name of democracy. 
Others cry out against the establishment of the eouuty or any other 
unit larger than the district which will result in making wealthy 
L'omuninities contribute to the education of children in poor com- 
munities. The utter shallowness of such arguments is clear to any 
imbiased citizen. As to preserving the district because of its so- 
called democracy, we may state that the chief reason for demanding 
its a'bolition is that it is the most andemocratie system that could be 
devised. The essence of democracy is equality of opportunity. 
We have shown that the district system not only fails to provide 
such equality but makes any approach to equality impossible. 

A much stronger argument frequently presented for the dis- 
trict system is that it fosters local interest in public education, and 
that without such interest our schools would languish. "Were the 
districts equally able to support schools and equally zealous for 
education, such an argument would be valid, but the conditions ex- 
isting in Oklahoma show not only that school districts are absolute- 
ly unequal in matters of zeal and ability, but that they can never 
approach even the slightest degree of such equality. 

Generations of district support and district control find one 
of the richest commonwealths in the richest nation on the earth 
denying multitudes of her children any educational opportunity 
whatever, and sending hundreds of others to school in dismal and 
unsanitary hovels under the tutelage of wretchedly underpaid and 
proportionately ignorant, untrained, and incompetent teachers. 
Such are the actual results of the time-honored, undemocratic dis- 
trict system in Oklahoma. 



50 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

THE DISTRICT SYSTEM MUST GO. 

Oklahoma may temporize with the present situation. She may 
reduce the existing evils, but she can not cure them unless, or until, 
she abolishes the district system with its legion of accompanying 
evils. The condition of Oklahoma, as far as public education is con- 
cerned, is pathological. It can not be cured without a major op- 
eration. The major operation it requires is the abolition of the 
school district as a unit of taxation, organization, and administra- 
tion. This fact may as well be faced frankly. There is no reason 
for hiding the truth from the citizens. 

The evils of the district system have been recognized and point- 
ed out by every leading authority on the organization and support 
of public schools for the last one hundred years. These leaders have 
been unanimous in their condemnation of the district system and 
their support of the county system. The State Superintendent of 
one of our leading States wrote in his annual report some years 
ago: "There is neither hope nor justice in such a system. No 
scheme of State aid will ameliorate thisi condition. The only just 
system is the county as a unit for school support, as well as for ad- 
ministration and supervision." 

Twenty-three States in the Union now have the county unit in 
some form. California requires every county to raise by county 
tax, a sum sufficient to provide $700 for every elementary, full-time 
teaching position. This sum is matched by the State. The remark- 
able progress which Alabama has made during the last five years 
has been largely due to her devolpment, upon the advice of the 
United States Bureau of Education, of a strong county unit. 

A STEP TOWARD ELIMINATION OF INEQUALITIES. 

From the standpoint of school finance, the county unit evens 
out the great inequalities in wealth which exist among the districts 
within the counties. Figure 7 has shown us the variation between 
the richest and poorest rural school districts in five Oklahoma coun- 
ties : Grant, Cimarron, KioAva, LeFlore and Haskell. We have 
seen that in Grant County this variation extends from $82,000 per 
child to $3,000 per child ; in Cimarron from $61,000 to $3,000 ; in Le- 
Flore from $16,000 to $1,000; and in Haskell from .$7,000 to $1,000. 

What would the adoption of the county in place of the district 
as a unit for furnishing school revenues do within these counties? 



PROBLEMS OF P^INANCING PUBLIC SCHOOLS 51 

This has already betMt shown iu Figure 2, a reference to whicli will 
show that in Cimarron County it would place $10,000 back of every 
child. There would no longer be some communities with $61,000 
back of each child while other communities had only $3,000 back 
of each child, but the county would become for the purposes of 
school support one community and there would be for the support 
of education $10,000 back of every child in the county district. 

SOURCES OF OPPOSITION TO IMPROVEMENT. 

Any attempt to abolish the district and to supplant it by the 
county as a unit will undoubtedly meet with strong opposition. 
Part of this opposition will come from those who will maintain that 
the district system is democratic. A preceding paragraph has al- 
ready answered this argument, and has shown that the district sys- 
tem is absolutely undemocratic because it is the most unequal sys- 
tem which could be devised and a system which will make equality 
forever impossible. 

The most important and the most vehement opposition will un- 
doubtedly come from wealthy communities, which, at the present 
time, are able to support fairly good schools from a low tax levy. 
This is always the case. This is the source of opposition which has 
been used in many States to defeat bills proposing an increase in 
State tax rates for schools. We have too long ignored the fact that 
the education of the children is not in any sense a local problem, 
nor a local responsibility. We recognize in other matters that the 
county and the State have the power to levy taxes sufficient to pro- 
duce the revenues needed for the public good. We must recognize 
this in education also, 

Oklahoma's present system of school finance is forcing thous- 
ands of poor communities to exert themselves far beyond their 
strength. It is letting large numbers of wealthy and comparative- 
ly wealthy communities escape from exerting any real effort. 
Worse than these facts are the results which have already been set 
forth; namely, that thousands upon thousands of children in Okla- 
homa are deprived of the chance which they Avould have, had they 
been so fortunate as to have been born in any one of the large 
number of States, States which have less wealth and are, therefore, 
less able to provide schools than Oklahoma, but which recognize the 
fact that the future prosperity of the State depends first of all upon 
the education of her children. 



52f PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

UNFAIR METHOD OF DISTRIBUTING STATE MONEYS. 

In a preceding paragraph devoted to causes of Oklahoma's ed- 
ucational backwardness it was stated that one of the four most im- 
portant causes is "an unscientific method of apportioning State 
funds." Oklahoma provides State moneys for common schools 
from three general sources: (1) Appropriations (e. g., to the su- 
perintendent of public instruction, to the State board of education 
to match federal apportionments for vocational education). (2) A 
general property tax of one-fourth of one mill. (3) The income 
of the permanent common school fund, which consists of rents from 
lands belonging to this fund and interest from the invested prin- 
cipal. 

The State appropriations are for specific projects, such as aiding 
rural schools in erecting buildings. They reach, therefore, only 
certain individual communities. Our interest at this point is in the 
so-called State school fund which consists of the proceeds of the 
State school tax and the income from the permanent common school 
fund and is distribuated in such a manner as ultimately to reach 
every district in the State. 

Figure 9 has shown us that in 1921 out of every $100 provided 
for public schools in Oklahoma the State furnished $9. Small as 
this amount is, if properly distributed, it could be made to play an 
important part in equalizing school burdens and educational oppor- 
tunities. Oklahoma disburses her State school funds among the coun- 
ties which, in turn, disburse the amounts thus received among the 
districts within the county on the basis of the number of children 
enumerated. This enumeration includes all children over six years 
of age and under twenty-one. 

This method is perhaps the most unscientific, the most anti- 
quated and the most unfair of all of the many methods of distribut- 
ing State school funds employed at the present time. The aim and 
theory back of this method are commendable. It assumes that this 
method will give to every school child of this State an equal amount 
of assistance in getting an education. In its application, however, 
this method is totally unfair both to the school children of the State 
and to the school districts which provide schools. 

DEFECTS OF TEEIS METHOD OF APPORTIONMENT. 

Space does not permit an elaborate discussion of the defects 
of apportioning State aid upon the basis employed by Oklahoma, 



PROBLEMS OF FINANCING PUBLIC SCHOOLS 53 

namely school enumeration. However, some of them may be point- 
ed out briefly. Apportioning school moneys on the basis of enum- 
eration places no premium upon school attendance, length of school 
term, the number of months a teacher is employed, high salary and 
high qualifications of teachers, nor the effort to provide a good 
school as evidenced by the levying of a liberal tax. "Worse than this 
it actually serves in some communities to encourage non-attendance. 
It does not give State moneys to the children actually in school, as it 
would do if State aid were apportioned on the basis of aggregate 
attendance. 

It ignores the fact that it is not chiefly the number of school 
childre'n, but rather the number of teachers employed which deter- 
mines what schools cost. A district employing one teacher to teach 
fifteen pupils will have to spend practically as much money as a dis- 
trict employing one teacher to teach thirty pupils. As long as school 
moneys are apportioned even upon any per pupil basis, this' supreme- 
ly important fact is left out of consideration. 

If a State is to equalize school burdens she must in her method 
of distributing aid take into consideration not only the number of 
teachers employed, but she must take into consideration both dif- 
ferences in ability to provide school revenue as measured by wealth 
per child, and differences in effort as measured by the rate of local 
tax. 

This suggests a somewhat complex method of distributing funds. 
To this we reply that the school situation which was comparatively 
simple twenty-five years ago has today become exceedingly com- 
plex. This complex situation can no longer be dealt with by em- 
ploying the crude rule-of-thumb methods which, although always to- 
tally inadequate, were less disastrous in their results at a time when 
the State was not forcing every community to provide schools for 
all children, in other words, when compulsory education laws were 
few in number and not rigidly enforced. 

ACTUAL RESULTS OF THE PLAN. 

"What does Oklahoma's present method of distributing her State 
school fund actually do? This can best be shown by comparing the 
amounts paid to various districts for the children actually in school. 
Such a comparison will show that, whereas in theory Oklahoma gives 
to the districts the same amount of State aid for each school child, 
as a matter of fact there is no equality -whatever in the amounts 
districts receive for the children they are actually educating. 



54 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



The evidence to support these statements is shown in Figure 10, 
which shows the situation with respect to the richest and poorest 
common school districts in five counties. 



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From Figure 10 we see that the richest common school district 
in Grant County which has 'back of each school child in average 
daily attendance no less than $82,000 receives $20 from the State, 
whereas the poorest district which has back of each school child 
only $3,000 receives from the State only $3. This is true of every 
county in the group except Haskell. In all the other counties the 
richest district gets the greater amount of aid. 



PROBLEMS OF FINANCING PUBLIC SCHOOLS 



55 



We have seen the injustice suffered by common school districts 
as the result of distributing State aid on the basis of enumeration. 
The injustice is even greater, perhaps, in the case of some inde- 
pendent districts. In these districts the enrollment and the average 
daily attendance both commonly exceed the enumeration due to the 
presence of children from outlying districts who are transferred 
to the independent districts. The result is that the independent 
district has a large number of children coming to it from outside 
for whom the independent district receives no aid whatsoever from 
the State. The amount of tuition received from the outside dis- 
tricts, part of which, it is true, represents State aid to the latter, is 
so small that it is disregarded here. This situation is shown in 
Table 11 which follows, 

TABLE 11.— INJUSTICE OF DISTRIBUTING STATE SCHOOL MONEYS 

ON BASIS OF ENUMERATION. 



Indepen- 


State Appor- 


State appor- 


Wealth 


Percent of 


Enumer- 


Enroll- 


Average 


dent 


tionment 


tionment 


per 


enumeration 


ation 


ment 


daily 


Districts 


per child 


per child 


child 


in 






attend- 




enumerated 


actually in 
school (b) 


(b) 


attendance 






ance 


Helena 


$2.39 


$1.80 


$1412 


133% 


185 


294 


246 


Hunter 


2.39 


2.07 


3019 


136% 


152 


225 


207 


Douglas 


2.39 


2.13 


3939 


102% 


108 


144 


121 


Red Rock 


2.39 


2.50 


6336 


99% 


156 


174 


149 


Walters 


2.39 


2.97 


1389 


81% 


893 


934 


719 


McMann 


2.39 


3.54 


7795 


67% 


922 


847 


623 



(a) All the data taken directly from district reports for the year 1921-22 on 

file with State department of education. 

(b) i. e. per child in average daily attendance. 









TABLE 


12. 












NINE OKLAHOMA COUNTIES— INEQUALITIES 












1921-1922. 










Cimarron 


Ability to Support Schools Annual Ex- 
Wealth per Child in penditure 
Average Daily Attendance 
Average Rank a- 
Daily At- mongi77 Per 
Amount tendance Counties (c) Total Child (b) 
$10,039 832 1 $81,178 $97.57 


Average 
District 
Tax 

Mills 
8.0 


! State District hav- 

Appor- ing Less than 

tionment 6 Mos. Term 

Niun- Per 
Amount ber Cent 
$2,626.00 


Grant 


9,022 3,514 


2 


252,270 


71.79 


5.9 


11,502.00 








Alfalfa 


7,268 4,149 


3 


315,231 


75.98 


8.3 


10,913.00 








Cotton 


3,985 3,324 


38 


161,798 


48.68 


9.1 


12,324.00 


1 


01.7 


Kiowa 


3,571 5,674 


39 


247,364 


43.60 


9.7 


20,767.00 


2 


02.4 


Carter 


3,284 10,073 


40 


721,116 


71.59 


4.2 


30,815.00 


1 


01.8 


LeFlore 


2,233 8.441 


75 


343,220 


40.05 


13.5 


33,894.00 


19 


18.1 


McCurtain 


1,982 6,685 


76 


240,554 


35.98 


13.9 


27,223.00 


7 


07.9 


Haskell 


1,590 4,769 


77 


170,296 


35.71 


18.8 


16,508.00 


1 


01.8 



a. Includes all districts, independent, rural and village, and white and col- 

ored. All data taken from Reports of County Superintendents on file 
with the State Department of Education. 

b. Per child in average daily attendance. 

c. Computed. 



56 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

THE PLAN FAILS TO ACHIEVE ITS OBJECT. 

It is the aim of the State to provide every one of the independ- 
ent districts included in Table 11 equal assistance. An example of 
the result of apportioning State aid on the basis of enumeraton is 
that Helena receives from the State $1.80 for each child actually in 
school and IMcMann $3.54 for each child actually in school, yet Mc- 
Mann is more than six times as able to provide school revenue as 
Helena and has in attendance only 60 per cent of its enumeration, 
whereas the attendance at Helena is 133 per cent of its enumeration. 
If the reader will compare other districts in this table he will find 
further convincing evidence of the unfairness and unsoundness of 
distributing school moneys on the basis of enumeration. 

Inequalities in school burdens, inequalities in ability to pro- 
vide school moneys, inequalities in effort, inequalities in assistance 
received from the State, inequalities in length of school year and 
in educational opportunities offered to the children of Oklahoma; 
this is, in a nutshell, the story of public education in Oklahoma to- 
day. This is the vision which greets our eyes whether we fix our 
attention upon the counties or upon the districts. 

Table 12 tells the story for the nine representative counties 
which have been chosen for special study. These counties as we 
have said were chosen on the basis of their relative ability to sup- 
port schools ; namely, the wealth per school child. 



PROBLEMS OF FINANCING PUBLIC SCHOOLS 57 



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58 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

The three poorest counties presented in Table 12, LeFlore, Mc- 
Curtain and Haskell, are the only ones in which the average rate 
of district tax exceeds 10 mills. In Haskell the average rate is near- 
ly 4 mills in excess of the lawful limit 15 mills. Yet despite this ex- 
ceedingly heavy rate the expenditure per child in Haskell is the 
lowest of the group, being, in fact, only $35.71. The average rate 
in LePlore, although high when compared with the richer counties, 
is more than 5 mills less than the average rate in Haskell. Yet in 
LeFlore, more than eighteen districts out of one hundred have a 
school term of less than six months ; whereas, in Haskell county only 
one district has a school term of less than six months. 



INEQUALITIES AMONG DISTRICTS. 

From this consideration of counties we now turn to the districts. 
Table 13 shows inequalities of the same sort existing among com- 
mon school districts and Table 14 among independent districts. 

In Table 13 we present for the richest and poorest district in 
each of the five counties, the assessed valuation per child, the ratio 
of the assessed valuation per child of the two districts compared, 
the district tax rate, annual expenditure, and total State aid per 
child, together with one or two other distinct facts. 

District Number 15 in Cimarron county is 17 times" as able to 
provide school revenues as District Number 36. District Number 
36 levies a 9 mill tax, but is able to expend only $51 per child; 
whereas. District 15 levies a 4 mill tax and spends $395 per child. 
Yet the richest district gets from the State $18 for each school child ; 
whereas, the poorer gets only $3. 

Equally significant is the situation in LeFlore county where 
the richest district with an average daily attendance of nine less 
than that in the poorest district levies a 12 mill tax, expends $209 
for each child and receives $23 for each child from the State ; where- 
as, the poorer district levies a 15 mill tax, is able to expend only 
$24 per child, and receives only $4 from the State. That a similar 
situation exists in indpendent districts will be seen from Table 14 



PROBLEMS OF FINANCING PUBLIC SCHOOLS 59 

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60 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

From Table 14 we see that Helena, which in 1922 levied a total 
district tax rate of 23.5 mills and expended nearly $65 per school 
child, receives from the State only $1.80 per child in average daily 
attendance; whereas. Wagoner which levied 10 mills' less (13 mills), 
spends only $44.42 per child, receiving $2.55 from the State. 

A comparison' of Walters with Vinita and Ramona Avill shoAV 
still further the unfairness of Oklahoma's method of distributing 
State aid. Walters levies a total tax of more than 19.3 mills, but 
is able to spend not quite $39 per child. Vinita, which levies 16.2 
mills, is able to spend nearly $100 and Ramona whose total tax is 
only 15 mills spends $163 per child. Yet the amount of State aid 
per child in average daily attendance received by Ramona and by 
Vinita is larger than that received by Walters. 

DECREASING SHARE OF SCHOOL BURDEN BORNE BY 

THE STATE. 

Previous paragraphs have shown that one of the chief causes 
of inadequate school funds and inequalities in Oklahoma is the dis- 
trict system. This system throws the responsibility of providing 
school revenues upon units so absolutely unequal in wealth, not to 
mention educational zeal, that it is humanly impossible for them 
ever to provide equal school funds. Worse still is the situation 
which we find in the poorest districts where even taxes exceeding 
the lawful limits do not provide adequate revenues. Not only is 
Oklahoma today throwing the major portion of her school burden 
upon these the most unequal of all possible units, but the tendency 
throughout her history has been for the State to contribute a less 
and less proportion of the school funds and thus to force the dis- 
tricts to assume a heavier and heavier burden. 

Thus we find that, whereas, in 1910 the State furnished $16 out 
of every $100 provided for schools, in 1920 she provided only $3.20. 
Again, whereas, in 1910 the districts furnished only $76 out of every 
$100, in 1920 they furnished $80.40 while the counties furnished 
$12.10, thus making the total furnished by local units, counties and 
districts $92.50. 

We frequently hear citizens complain over the vast increases 
in the school moneys furnished by the State. It is true that the 
amount which the State has furnished ha^ steadily increased, but this 
amount has failed increasingly to keep pace with the enormous in- 



PROBLEMS OF FINANCING PUBLIC SCHOOLS 61 

creases in sichool expenditure, and particularly with the increases 
in the school moneys furnished by the local units, districts and 
counties. The story of this declining importance of the State as a 
provider of public school revenue in Oklahoma is shown by Figure 
11 which follows. 

Proportion or Oklahoma School Durdcns 
Dorne: by Local Unit3 (Districts and Counties) and by thl 5tatl 

1910-19£0 





1910 1920 

Inequality in Ability or Oklahoma Countieis 
TO Support Schools 
[9n-[9lL 

FIGURE 11. 

There is no reason to believe that school costs in Oklahoma will 
increase any less rapidly in the future than they have in the past. 
Indeed, all the facts before us leave no room to doubt that if Okla- 
homa is in any sense to measure up to the other States with which 
her wealth compares she must increase her school expenditure many 
times. If she is to do away with short school terms, under-trained 
teachers, and a multitude of other evils she must spend many times 
the money which she is at present expending. 

That she is able to do this was made evident in Table 4. Table 
4 showed that, whereas, Oklahoma is exceeded by only eleven 
States in the Union as to ability to provide school revenues, she is 
exceeded by forty-one with respect to the amount of money she is 
spending for each $1,000 of her wealth. One of the most important 
questions which Oklahoma must face when she undertakes to pro- 
vide these increased revenues is, where shall the money come from. 



62 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

To attempt in the future to continue the policy of depending 
upon school districts for the major proportion of school revenues, 
can lead only to inequalities and to failures even greater than those 
which mark the present situation. It is absolutely essential that 
Oklahoma adopt as her local unit from which to derive school rev- 
enues, one far more capable than the district of equalizing school 
funds. That the county is such a unit has already been shown. 
"We have also pointed out definitely how the county would do this. 
Let us now ask to what extent will the adoption of the county unit 
result in equalizing school revenues throughout the State and in 
equalizing school burdens and educational opportunities. 

WILL THE COUNTY ITNIT EQUALIZE EDUCATION 

IN OKLAHOMA? 

There can be no doubt as to the great superiority of the county 
over the district as the unit of local organization and support for 
public schools. Nevertheless, facts already presented have shown that 
the counties of Oklahoma are very unequal in wealth and conse- 
quentlj^ very unequal in their ability to provide school revenue. 
However much Oklahoma may improve her educational situation by 
abolishing school districts and establishing the county as the local 
unit, flagrant and disastrous inequalities will continue as long as 
the schools of Oklahoma are obliged to depend upon local units, even 
though these units be counties for the major portion of their sup- 
port. 

Neither the county nor any other local unit which might be 
devised can equalize school revenues, school burdens, and educa- 
tional opportunities. The State and only the State can do this. 
The truth of this assertion becomes increasingly evident the mom- 
ent wp survey Oklahoma's seventy-seven counties as is done in 
Figure 11. 

Figure 11 shows the seventy-seven counties of Oklahoma ar- 
ranged in nine groups. The first of the columns at the left indi- 
cates the number of counties included in each of the nine groups; 
the second column, the per cent of Oklahoma's total enumeration 
included in the total number of counties in each group. The third 
column shows the valuation per child enumerated in the richest 
and in the poorest county in each group. Tliis is further repre- 
sented by the bars composing the figure. 



PROBLEMS OF FINANCING PUBLIC SCHOOLS 



63 



Incquality in Ability or Oklahoma Countieis 
TO Support Schools 
19^1-19^2. 



Number Ftercznt 
of Counriej of 
in Oroup Total 

enumeration 



Valuation 
per Child 
flnum- 
crated *0 



-Counties in Nine Groups- 
Richest and Pooresf County in Lacb Group 

'1,000 ^£,000 * 3.000 ^4.000 ^5,000 ^6000 ^TOOO 



11 



11 



14 



16 



15 



15 



15 



HL 



■»a407 
4.769 

4,415 
4. DO 

4.050 
3.794 

3.116 

2.997 
£.507 

1.71(0 
£.007 

1.937 
1.533 

1.497 
1.037 

965 

905 




_L 



*0 •«1000 ■8£000 ^3.000 •*4.000 *5,000 *6,000 *7,000 

FIGURE 12. 
EXTREMES OF INEQUALITY AMONG THE COUNTIES. 

Figure 12 shows us that the richest county in the State is more 
than seven times as able to provide school revenue as the poorest 
county in the State. Of all the children in Oklahoma, 74 per cent 
live in counties where the valuation back of each child enumerated 
is less than $3,000 ; 44 per cent live in counties where the valuation 
is less than $2,000 ; 26 per cent live in counties where the valuation 
back of each child enumerated reaches from $3,000 to $6,000. See 
Figure 13. 

The impossibility of ever equalizing .school revenues by setting 
up as the source from which the major portion of school funds is to 
be secured, units as unequal in wealth as the counties of Oklahoma, 
is too evident to require additional comment. No further argument 
should be necessary to convince every citizen of Oklahoma that 
even the abolition of the district and the establishment, in its place, 
of the county unit, although it will be a most important step in the 
right direction, will never equalize school revenues. Neither school 



64 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



burdens nor educational opportunities will ever be equalized as long 
as Oklahoma depends for the greater part of her public school rev- 
enue upon local units of any sort. The State and only the State 
will ever be able to bring about such equalization. 

Mow Oklahoma Dividcs her School Rcvcnuc^ 




26% or OKLAHOMAb School Moncy 

60C5 TO 16% or HER CHILDREN 



The3<2 children live in ,5fx oounrfcs: 
AlRalfo CnzeK Oklahoma 

Okmulgee Obo^ Tulsa 

FIGURE 13. 



PROBLEMS OF PINANCING PUBLIC SCHOOLS 65 

PUBLIC EDUCATION IS A FUNCTION OF THE STATE. 
PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE STATE INSTITUTIONS. 

Public education is a function of the State, and public schools 
are State, not local, institutions. This declaration is not based upon 
theory, for the matter has been tested in the supreme court, and the 
court has ruled that public schools are State institutions, and that 
the powers exercised by local units are distinctly delegated powers. 
The wealth within a State available for taxation for the support of 
public schools belongs to the State, i. e., to all the children of the 
State. The district system is an inheritance from colonial days when 
schools were regarded, controlled, and supported as local charit- 
able and semi-church institutions. That day is past, and Okla- 
h()]na should free herself from the shackles of a system' which 
makes equality of educational opportunity impossible. 

Equality of educational, opportunity for all the children of 
the entire State, and equality of school burdens sustained by lo- 
cal scliool units, the counties, and the districts, constitute a brief 
but correct statement of the aim underlying general, that is State 
and county, aid. 

Equality implies much more than universal education and 
State-wide equality in the length of the school year. It means 
equality of conditions under which children study and play. It 
means trained teachers, and healthful, well-equipped, inviting 
schoolhouses and yards, equality in the scope, vitality and richness 
of studies. The only possibility of approaching equality in this 
broad sense lies partly in proper organization and administration of 
school units, and partly in equality of school support. Equality in 
school support means equal distribution of economic responsibility 
and economic power. Such economic equality can come only if the 
amount of aid granted to the school unit is determined on the basis 
of the ability (i. e., the financial resources) and the effort of this 
unit. 

WHAT SHARE OF THE SCHOOL BURDEN SHOULD BE 
BORNE BY THE STATE? 

Equality in educational opportunity will never be secured until 
the schools cease to be in the last analysis, both from the standpoint 
of control and from the standpoint of support, dominantly local in- 
stitutions and until the State provides, supports, and directs those 

s. s. 3 



66 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

factors upon which equality primarily depends, and which may, 
therefore, be termed the minimum essentials of educational equality. 

"What, now. are the factors which to the largest degree make the 
educational opportunities offered within the various communities 
of a State equal or unequal? Without a moment's hesitation we 
answer: The number and quality of teachers employed, the length 
of school term, the effectiveness of general administration and su- 
pervision, and the quality and adequacy of the apparatus directly 
related to instruction, including especially such materials as text- 
books. 

It is well known that teachers' wages constitute the largest 
single item of school expenditure in every community and, also, 
that as is the teacher so is the school. Studies made in comparative- 
ly recent times have shown further that the quality of instruction 
is largely determined by the quality of supervision. Place upon the 
State the responsibility of furnishing funds to provide every 
school with enough money to pay a minimum salary to every teach- 
er for an entire school year of uniform length, such minimum vary- 
ing with the qualifications of the individual teacher and further, 
place upon the State the responsibility of providing the materials 
directly related to instruction, and the moneys necessary to guar- 
antee the scientific supervision of every school — and existing edu- 
cational inequalities will be rapidly evened out. Let us now turn 
directly to the question, what proportion of total school revenue 
will the State be required to provide under this proposed plan, and 
what proportion will be furnished by the local school units? 

We can best answer this question by finding out Mdiat per cent 
of the total annual expenditure for public schools is devoted to the 
items just named. For this purpose we may consider the United 
States as a whole, and California, a State whose standards with 
respect to teachers' salaries are exceeded by none and a State, 
moreover which furnishes free textbooks. In 1915, practically 60 
per cent of the total school costs in the United States were de- 
voted to teachers' salaries and textbooks; in California approxi- 
mately 55 per cent. In 1918, the per cents were, respectively, 58 
for the United States ; 61 for California. In 1920, California devoted 
a little less than 63 per cent of her total school revenues to teachers' 
salaries and textbooks. 



PROBLEMS OF FINANCING PUBLIC SCHOOLS 67 

In general, we may say that from 60 to 65 per cent of total 
school costs, would, under normal conditions, be devoted to teachers' 
salaries and textbooks. Were we to add to these items the costs of 
adequate supervision and apparatus, other than textbooks, directly 
related to instruction, the per cent would probably range from 65 
to 70; In any case, the proportion will vary from year to year 
and from community to community and consequently must be de- 
termined from time to time. The first step which the State must 
take is to determine the amount Avhich she will provide for each 
teaching position or each unit of full attendance, and then adopt 
ways and means of insuring this annually to the schools. 

If Oklahoma is not yet ready to go as far as the present report 
advises, which is to place upon the State from 65 to 70 per cent of 
the burden, then let her adopt such a policy as California has 
effectively carried on for many years and which has placed her 
among the very first States of the Union educationally. This policy, 
as we have already stated, guarantees $1,400 a year to every ele- 
mentary teaching position in the State, $700 from State sources 
and $700 from county sources. 



ESTABLISH AN INTERIM COMMISSION ON SCHOOL 

FINANCE. 

Oklahoma should provide for the establishment of an interim 
legislative commission on school finance, one of whose functions 
shall be to determine as nearly as possible the amount of money 
needed during the next biennium to pay the State's share of the 
costs of teachers' salaries, free textbooks, supervision, and other 
projects to be financed by the State. Such a commission should 
report this amount to the legislature at each session, and the legis- 
lature should fortliAvith take steps to provide the necessary revenue. 

It should be understood that the policy proposed here would 
not prevent counties from paying salaries above the minima fixed by 
the State where the electors of the county or the county school board 
should determine this to be advisable. In fact, the State should pro- 
vide a fund for subsidizing counties which employ teachers whose 
qualifications exceed the minima set by the State Board of Edu- 
cation. Massachusetts has clearly shown what excellent results may 
be accomplished from such a policy. 



68 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

WHERE SHALL STATE SCHOOL MONEYS COME FROM? 

Any x^roposal to have the State furnish out of State funds from 
65 to 70 per cent of the total revenue needed for the support of 
public schools at once raises the question from what sources shall 
the State derive these funds. 

Oklahoma has long had the reputation, both within her own 
borders and throughout the United States, of being possessed of a 
magnificant endowment for public schools, consisting of lands and 
moneys granted to her by the federal government at the time of 
her admission into the Union. At the close of the fiscal year, June 
30, 1921, this endowment amounted to approximately twenty-nine 
million dollars, as is shown by Table 3. 

Far more important than the value of Oklahoma's endow- 
ment is the question whether the per cent of the total school revenue 
derived from this endowment is increasing, or decreasing. In 
other words, the question can Oklahoma depend more and more 
upon this endowment, or must she depend less and less upon it? 

According to the data reported by the United States Bureau 
of Education in 1910, out of every $100 provided in Oklahoma for 
public schools $15.80 was furnished by the State. Not all, but by 
far the major portion, of this amount was derived from the per- 
manent school fund. In 1915 the permanent school fund furnished 
approximately $12 out of every $100 of public school revenue, and 
in 1920, $3.20. In view o:^ these facts it is evident that if the State 
is to furnish an increasing proportion of the total school revenue 
this increase is not to be derived from the permanent school fund. 
Let us now consider from what other sources Oklahoma might de- 
rive school revenue, 

A STATE TAX, OR LEGISLATIVE APPROPRIATIONS? 

There has been much discussion as to which is the better 
method of providing school moneys for State aid, by making appro- 
priations out of the general fund or by providing for a State tax, 
the proceeds of which shall be devoted to schools. 

In favor of the State tax versus State appropriations it has 
been urged that as the wealth, school population, and school costs 
increase, the income provided for the schools increases; also that 
whereas appropriations frequently depend upon the mood and some- 
times even upon the whim of the legislature, a State tax is stable and 
its proceeds assured. Undoubtedly influenced by these consider- 



PROBLEMS OF FINANCING PUBLIC SCHOOLS 69 

ations the Minnesota State Board of Education in 1920 in its re- 
port upon The Revision of State Aid urged the substitution of a 
State mill tax for existing biennial appropriations. 

On the other hand, Illinois and California, after experimenting 
with the State school property tax, both abandoned it in favor of 
State appropriations. A very serious objection to the State school 
tax of a fixed rate is that there is no guarantee that it will furnish 
the amount of money necessary. This difficulty may, however, be 
avoided. Instead of fixing a definite rate, the laws may provide for 
the levying of a State mill property tax sufficient to raise a fixed 
sum, or, better yet, sufficient to enable the State to fulfill its obli- 
gations to the public schools. 

Four States in the Union are already levying State school taxes 
of this sort; namely, Arizona, which levies a State tax sufficient to 
provide $20 per child in average daily attendance ; Utah, which levies 
to tax of undetermined rate sufficient to raise $25 per child from 
6 to 17 years of age ; Washington, which levies a tax sufficient, when 
added to the income of the permanent school fund, to produce $20 
per child of school age; and Wisconsin, which levies a tax sufficient 
to pay State aid to public schools. 

The problem of providing school revenue is inseparable from 
the general problem of public finance. It is evident that if the 
State is to assume from 65 to 70 per cent of the burden of school 
costs, she must either discover new sources of school revenue 
sufficient to produce the increased funds which she is to provide, or 
she must be allowed, in case these new sources are inadequate, to 
draw more heavily upon the sources which at present are furnishing 
State revenues. 

Among the new sources of revenue which we recommend to the 
careful consideration of the Oklahoma Legislature, is a State 
graduated income tax. This is now effectively and satisfactorily 
employed as a source of school revenue in Massachusetts and Dela- 
ware, 

Oklahoma levies a gross earning tax of 3 per cent on oil and 
other natural resources. Of this the State retains 2 per cent, and 
returns 1 per cent to the counties from which derived. The county 
devotes one-half of its quota to roads and the remaining one-half 
is distributed among all the districts of the county on the basis of 
school enumeration. It is impossible to discuss here many questions 
pertinent to the gross earnings tax in Oklahoma. The very fact that 



70 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

the State retains two-thirds of the proceeds is a definite recognition 
that she regards these natural products as belonging primarily and 
chiefly to the State and not to the communities in which they are 
located. This suggests at once the possibility of increasing State 
school revenues, by reapportioning the gross earnings proceeds. 

A survey of Table 13, (see page 57) will show that in 
some cases the districts which derive large revenue from the gross 
earnings tax are among the wealthier districts and therefore, have 
less need of revenue from this source than districts which receive 
nothing from the proceeds of the gross earnings tax. Only a careful 
study of the situation could determine whether or not the gross 
earnings tax could be advantageously reapportioned, and if so, 
how, 

NATURAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE SHOULD BE TREAT 
ED AS PERMANENT ENDOWMENT. 

Attention should be called to the fact that the gross earnings 
tax is levied upon products which are severed from the soil, and that 
the removal of these products permanently impoverishes the State. 
The natural resources of a State should not be regarded as belong- 
ing to any single generation, but rather to all generations. For this 
reason Oklahoma should follow the example of Minnesota and cer- 
tain other States, and devote the proceeds of her gross earnings 
tax to her permanent educational endowment funds. This would 
deprive the State and the schools of a large amount of current 
revenue. It must be evident, hoAvever, that in using the proceeds oC 
the gross earnings tax, Oklahoma is using up what is essentially a 
reserve fund. 

Li a State which is still as largely agricultural as Oklahoma, 
undoubtedly the major portion of all revenue must come from a 
general property tax. The rate of this tax, as has been suggested, 
should not be fixed. On the contrary, it should be determined bien- 
nially on the basis of the amount of money which the State needs, 
in order to insure to each school the funds sufficient to equalize 
educational opportunities. 

AVith the abolition of the school district, every county should 
be required to levy a county school tax of a minimum rate. 

The revenue provided by the State should be turned into a 
State equalization fund. Out of this fund there should be insured 
a minimum sum for every teaching position in the schools. In addi- 



PROBLEMS OF FINANCING PUBLIC SCHOOLS 71 

tion, the State should provide an equalization fund to be distributed 
among those counties which levy a prescribed county rate and are 
yet unable to raise a sum per child, or per teacher employed, suffi- 
cient to provide satisfactory facilities ; i. e., facilities measuring up 
to the standards established by the State Department of Education. 

In striking contrast to Oklahoma's present policy of depending 
less and less upon the State for school revenues, we may note a 
marked tendency in more progressive States, such as Washington, 
California, Montana, and Texas to increase greatly the quota of 
State school moneys. 

California in 1921 increased the amount to be furnished by the 
State from $15 to $30 for every pupil in average daily attendance 
in high schools, and from $17.50 to $30.00 for every pupil in 
elementary schools. Every county in California is required to levy a 
tax for elementary schools sufficient to provide $30.00 per pupil in 
average daily attendance, and an additional tax sufficient to pro- 
vide $60.00 per high school pupil in average daily attendance. Col- 
orado, by legislation enacted in 1921, placed at the disposal of the 
State Superintendent of Public Instruction a portion of the income 
from her permanent school fund to be used if necessary to insure 
the maintenance of minimum standards as to teachers' salaries. 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

Preceding pages have described existing educational conditions 
in Oklahoma and present policies; they have not only pointed out 
the defects but have in many instances suggested remedies. They 
have also explained the reasons for many of these recommendations. 
It is desirable to bring together here at the close of this chapter a 
brief resume of the recommendations offered. There are added to 
the recommendations already specifically presented, certain others 
which, although not stated, are, by implication or as a consequence 
of principles laid down, contained therein. 

(1) Abolish the present antiquated, unfair methods of appor- 
tioning State school moneys, and adopt modernized, scientific 
methods which mil recognize variations among the local school 
units, as to length of school year, assessed valuation per child in 
average daily attendance, local tax rate, aggregate days of attend- 
ance, number and qualifications of school officers and teachers 
employed. 

(2) Abolish present plan of school district organization. 



72 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

(3) Establish the county as the local school unit. 

(4) Remove all limitations on State and local taxation. 

(5) Establish eight months, 160 days, as the minimum school 
term, beginning in 1924-25, and nine months thereafter. 

(6) Require a minimum county school tax of not less than 
ten mills, the proceeds to be distributed among the schools of the 
county on a per-teacher basis, and in such a manner as to recognize 
the principles set forth in Recommendation 1, in so far as these 
principles have application within the county. 

(7) Extend to counties taxing and bonding powers for school 
purposes. The plan here proposed of abolishing school districts 
and of establishing the county as the local unit of support Avill 
equalize local rates of taxation within the counties. 

(8) Provide a State equalization fund to be apportioned among 
those counties which levy a county school tax of 15 mills or more 
but are unable to produce thereby for every child of school age 
resident in the county a quota equal to the State average county 
quota per child derived from proceeds of such county taxes. 

(9) Empower and require the State Department of Educa- 
tion to fix and to modify from time to time, as conditions seem to 
warrant, the requirements and standards which counties must meet 
in order to receive quotas of State moneys. 

(10) Require county and all other school boards to prepare 
annually a budget of estimated school costs for the next succeed- 
ing year, such budget to be submitted to the proper authorities and 
used as a basis for levying taxes. 

(11) Require the counties to formulate and provide for the 
carrying out of a county building program, to provide new build- 
ings and other new school property. 

(12) Abolish the office of county superintendent as an elec- 
tive office, and place the appointment and fixing of the salary of 
the county superintendent in the hands of the County Board of 
Education, subject only to the limits as to professional qualifica- 
tions and minimum salary fixed by the State Board of Education. 

(13) Establish an amount not less than that paid to city 
superintendents in first class city systems as the minimum salary of 
county superintendents. The office of county superintendent should 
be thoroughly professionalized. Nowhere is skilled supervision 
more important than in rural communities, owing to the large num- 
bers of untrained and inexperienced teachers to be found in sucJi 



PROBLEMS OF FINANCING PUBLIC SCHOOLS 73 

communities. Specific and high professional qualifications should 
be prerequisites for eligibility to the office. 

(14) Provide for every county supervisors or teacher-helpers 
of qualifications sufficient to entitle said supervisor to a salary not 
less than that paid to expert supervisors employed in first class city 
school systems, appointment to be made by county board of educa- 
tion on nomination of the county superintendent upon the basis of 
qualifications fixed by the State Board of Education. 

(15) Provide for a State graduated income tax upon the pro- 
ceeds of which public schools and other educational institutions 
shall have first claim. 

(16) Create a State special commission on taxation. Such a 
commission is needed at the present time in Oklahoma to make a 
thorough study of her system of assessing property and levying and 
collecting taxes. The State Board of Equalization insists that 
property is now assessed at its fair cash value. Members of the 
survey staff frequently heard it stated by individual citizens that 
property is assessed at not more than one-third its true value, and 
striking examples supporting these statements were given. 

(17) Create a State interim legislative educational budget 
commission, which shall prepare and recommend to the next legis- 
lature an educational budget. 

(18) Provide for the raising by State taxation of funds suffi- 
cient to finance all educational projects, positions, and institutions 
subsidized by the State. 

(19) Provide for the State Department of Education funds 
sufficient to enable it to dispense entirely with aid from private 
foundations. 

(20) Place the appointment and the fixing of the salary of 
the State Superintendent of Public Instruction in the hands of the 
State Board of Education. 

(21) Provide a salary fund for the State Department of Edu- 
cation sufficient to enable the State Board of Education to employ 
a State Superintendent capable of commanding from $7,000 to 
$10,000, and to pay other members of the staff proportionately, in 
each case the salary to be determined on the basis of professional 
qualifications. 

(22) Establish and provide for the maintenance of a Division 
of School Buildings within the State Department of Education. 



74 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

(23) Provide for State continuing appropriations sufficient to 
match federal, private, and all other subventions the receipt of 
which requires moneys provided from within the State. 

(24) Abolish 6 to 21 years as the scholastic age, and establish 
in its stead as the scholastic age, 5 to 18 years. 

(25) Provide that State tax rates for educational projects 
shall be determined biennially on the basis of the amount of money 
required, in addition to that available from the endowment fund 
and all other continuing sources, to provide adequate funds for all 
educational projects to be subsidized by the State. 

(26) Provide State funds to grant special additional aid to 
encourage consolidation, transportation, free textbooks, and em- 
ployment of teachers, superintendents, and other school officers of 
qualifications higher than the lawful minimum, and to subsidize 
new and progressive types of educational effort. 

(27) Empower and require the State Board of Education to 
establish and modify from time to time, as conditions warrant, a 
scale of educational and professional requirements for all positions 
to be subsidized entirely or in part by the State, and a correspond- 
ing salary scale in which salaries paid shall vary according to the 
professional preparation, experience, and class of certificate of the 
incumbent. 

(28) Provide for an adequate and reliable school census. 

(29) Require the State Department of Education to prepare a 
uniform system of recording receipts and expenditures, and an 
accompanying handbook of detailed instructions such as have been 
compiled by the State departments of New York and Peinisylvania. 

(30) Require the State Department of Education to furnish 
free to counties all forms for financial accounting and reporting. 

(31) Summarizing the most important tendency of forward 
looking legislation which underlies many of the recommendations 
contained in the preceding sections, a tendency which must be recog- 
nized and accepted before school burdens and educational opportuni- 
ties can be equalized in any thorough-going manner: 

Place upon the State (which is the only unit capable of equal- 
izing school burdens and educational opportunities) the major por- 
tion of the burden of school support by requiring the State to fur- 
nish funds sufficient to pay the minimum wage to which every in- 
cumbent of an educational position is entitled by reason of his qual- 
ifications, professional, and otherwise. This recommendation covers 



PROBLEMS OF FINANCING PUBLIC SCHOOLS 75 

salaries of superintendents, assistants, rural supervisors, and all 
members of the staff of the State Board of Education. 

The important items of expenditure which would be left to the 
local communities to subsidize, if this recommendation be adopted, 
would be school buildings, sites, equipment, cost of furnishing re- 
pairs and operating school buildings, as well as all fixed charges. 



CHAPTER IV. 

REPORT ON THE FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING PROCi:i) 
URE OF THE SCHOOLS OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA. 

INTRODUCTION. 

The question as to what could be covered most effectively and 
be of the most service to the people of Oklahoma, in a survey 
of the financial and accounting procedure of the schools of the 
state, within the limited time allotted, was decided in favor of 
the elementary and secondary schools. Much that applies to tlie 
larger and independent school organizations of cities is also appli- 
cable, to a greater or less extent, to the institutions of higher 
education. Accordingly, aside from a cursory examination of 
the financial and accounting procedure of the normal schools, 
colleges, and of the university, on the one hand, and of the special 
and separate schools, on the other hand, attention was centered 
on the financial and accounting procedure of the elementaiy and 
secondary schools of the cities, towns, and rural districts, selecting 
for this purpose typical city and county school systems. 

The result of this study is incorporated in the following re- 
port, which consists of: First, a general statement of existing 
organization and procedure ; and Second, criticisms of the con- 
ditions found, and constructive suggestions as to their betterment. 
Supplementing the latter, various financial statements have been 
prepared as graphic examples of the suggestions made, and these 
statements are submitted in the form of exhibits accompanying 
the report. 

The general statement of organization and procedure covers 
the forms of school organization, jurisdiction and general control, 
custody and disbursement of funds, financial control and budget 
procedure, acquisition of property, and accounting methods. 

Criticisms and constructive suggestions are presented under 
three heads, budgetary procedure, accounting methods, and financ- 
ing methods. Under these heads the criticisms in brief are as 
follows : 



FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTINrx PROCEDURE 77 

A. Budgetary Procedure, 

1. Organization fur financial control erroneous. 

2. ]\Iethods of presenting information regarding school 
finance tend to confuse rather than to inform the pub- 
lic. 

3. Methods of estimating revenues extraordinarily conserv- 
ative. 

4. Duplication of appropriation accounts. 

B. Accounting- Methods. 

1. Practice of reporting revenues and expenditures only 
under heads of General Fund and Sinking Fund er- 
roneous. 

2. Appropriation accounts reflect objects of expenditure 
Mith little regard to purpose and character. 

3. Appropriation accounts not followed explicitly when in- 
curring expenditures. 

4. Financial statements issued in the form of balance sheets 
without being accompanied by operation statements. 

5. Financial statements showing functional expenditures 
can be developed to further advantage. 

6. School annual statistical reports to State Superintendent 
of Education subject to improvement. 

C. Financing Methods. 

1. Bond issues permissible on too liberal a basis. 

2. Authorization to use sinking funds to pay judgments 
unsound finance. 

3. Policy in regard to investing sinking funds questionable, 

4. The issue of sinking fund bonds a costly method of finan- 
cing. 

In making these criticisms and suggestions, it is to be under 
stood that they are predicated upon a very hasty examination; 
and that the financial reports have been prepared with equal rapid- 
ity. These financial reports may contain minor errors due to the 
fact that in many instances they have been compiled from incom- 
plete records and from records not designed to give financial 
data in the form here presented. Any such errors, however, if 
th6y should exist, would be immaterial and have little effect upon the 
general conclusions. In the main, however, it is believed that these 
statements are as near correct as is possible under the circumstances. 



"^■8 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

It is also to be understood that these criticisms are in no sense 
criticisms of individuals, but of methods and procedure. In fact, 
in numerous instances, individuals Avere found to be producing re- 
markable results considering the difficulties under which they la- 
bored. Questions were answered freely, information was given 
willingly, and there was no hesitation whatever about exliibiting 
any and all records requested for examination. 

GENERAL STATEMENT OF ORGANIZATION AND PROCED- 
URE. 

A. FORMS OF SCHOOL ORGANIZATION. 

A discussion of school systems from the financial and account- 
ing point of view begins with the forms of school organization. 

The common school organizations of the state of Oklahoma may 
be primarily classified under two heads, independent school dis- 
tricts and non-independent school districts. 

An independent school district is one that maintains a four- 
year high school fully accredited with the state university, and 
contains an incorporated town. Independent school districts are 
divided into : 

1. City school districts which consist of municipal corpor- 
ations of more than 2,000 population and which also have 
a city charter. 

2. Town school districts which consist of either incorporated 
towns of more than 2,000 population which have no city 
charter, or incorporated towns of less than 2,000 population, 
and in either case maintain an accredited high school. 

3. United school districts which are composed of one or more 
adjacent independent school districts united for the pur- 
pose of maintaining a stronger school system. 

Non-independent school districts consist of district schools, 
union graded schools, consolidated schools, and separate schools 
which are as follows : 

1. District schools located in towns, villages, or in the countrjj 
and serving an area of not less than six square miles. They 
are for the most part elementary schools although some 
maintain certain high school grades. 

2. Consolidated schools consist of one or more adjacent district 
schools combined and serving an area of not less than twen- 
ty-five square miles, and authorized to provide free trans- 
portation of pupils to and from school. 



FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING PROCE^)URE 79 

8. Union graded schools consist of two or more adjacent dis- 
trict schools maintaining one central school in which in- 
struction is given to pupils above the sixth grade to and 
including high school work. 

4. Separate schools Avhich consist of: 

(a) Schools for children of negro blood, whether district 
schools, consolidated schools, or union graded schools, 
and whether located in cities, to^Anis, villages or in 
the country; except in cities and incorporated towns 
where a majority of the population is negro, in which 
case the negro schools may constitute the independ- 
ent school district. 

(b) Schools for children not of negro blood, located in 
cities, incorporated towns, village or rural districts, 
where the majority of the population is negro and 
in Avhich the schools for negro children constitute 
the independent school district. 

B. JURISDICTION AND GENERAL CONTROL. 

Independent school districts are under the jurisdiction and gen- 
eral control of boards of education as follows : 

1. In cities of more than 50,000 population the board con- 
sists of two members elected from each ward, provided the 
number of wards do not exceed five, who hold office four 
years, one being elected at each biennial election. 

2. In cities of less than 50,000 the board consists of one mem- 
ber from each ward and one from the outlying territory, 
all serving four years, two being elected at one biennial 
election and the balance at another; provided that in cities 
of less than 5,000 population, if there be no outlying district, 
one member shall be elected at large. 

3. Instead of the above, any city may adopt by popular vote 
a charter containing such provisions as to membership of 
boards of education, terms of office of board members, 
and time of election, as it may desire. 

4. In imited school districts the board of education is compos- 
ed of one member from each ward in each city of the united 
district, the term of office and the time of election of 
each member being the same as provided for boards of edu- 
cation in independent school districts. 



80 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

5. As to boards of education of independent school districts 
in incorporated towns, the school law does not appear spec- 
ific; but in view of the provisions in the school law regard- 
ing school boards in cities school districts, it is reasonable 
to assume that the intent of the legislature, in framing the 
law, was to prescribe the same kinds of boardvs of education 
for town independent school districts as regarding 
authority. The boards of education in all independent 
school districts are by the school law given to a limited ex- 
tent a general grant of power. 

Non-independent school districts are under jurisdiction and 
general control as follows: 

1, School districts, consolidated districts, and union graded 
districts are each governed by a school board of three mem- 
bers, consisting of a director, member and a clerk. They 
are elected by popular vote, each in a different year, 
and each serves three years. Their duties are specifically 
set forth in the school law, those of the director being 
to preside at all district meetings and meetings of the 
board, and to sign warrants which have been prepared by 
the clerk after their authorization in a district or board 
meeting. 

2. Separate schools are under two forms of control : 

(a) Schools for negro children, in a city whose charter 
so provides, are under the board of education of 
tlie independent school district comprised of schools 
for children not of negro blood. 

(b) Separate schools, not in cities, for negro children and 
likewise for children not of negro blood are collect- 
ively under the jurisdiction and general control of 
the superintendent of education of the county in 
which the separate schools are located. That official 
is elected by popular vote and serves a term of two 
years. 

C. CUSTODY AND DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS. 

1. Independent school districts. 

■ In cities, unless their charters provide otherwise, a 
school treasurer is elected at large by popular vote and 
serves a term of three years. 



FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING PROCEDURE 81 

Elsewhere than in cities, boards of education are 
authorized to elect a school treasurer, not a member of the 
board. 

School treasurers receive the school funds of their re- 
spective districts, including the taxes which are collected 
by the county treasurer and periodically turned over to 
them ; and disburse the same on warrants signed by the pres- 
ident of the board, or, in his absence, by the vice-president, 
and countersigned by the clerk. 
2. Non-independent school districts. 

The county treasurer acts as treasurer for all the non- 
independent school districts and separate schools in the 
county. He is authorized to disburse the funds of each 
school district on warrants signed by the director and clerk 
thereof, and to pay interest coupons and bonds of the dis- 
trict. He is required on or before the first Tuesday in 
July to furnish to each school district board of his county 
a certified report show^ing the moneys received and dis- 
bursed by him during the fiscal year ending June 30th, 
and the amount of all assets on hand at the close of such 
fiscal year available for that district. 

The county treasurer also acts as treasurer for the 
separate schools in his county. He disburses the funds of 
these schools on warrants issued by the county clerk and 
countersigned by the county superintendent of education, 
provided the county clerk draws no warrant for a greater 
amount for teachers than is paid the like number of teachers 
for like service in other schools for that county. The school 
law does not appear to require the county treasurer to make 
any statemnet to anyone of the financial condition of the 
separate schools. 

D. FINANCIAL CONTROL AND BUDGET PROCEDURE. 

In each county of the state there exists a county excise board 
which exercises financial control over all common schools in the 
county whether the schools be independent or non-independent, 
whether they be city, town, village, rural, or separate schools. A 
county excise board is composed of seven members, consisting of 
a county clerk, county treasurer, county superintendent of edu- 
cation, county judge, county assessor, county attorney, and a desig- 



82 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

nated member of the board of commissioners, which latter board 
is the county legislative body consisting of three commissioners. 

The budgets of all common schools within a county must be 
submitted by their boards of education to the county excise board 
for approval, Avith the exception of separate schools not in cities. 
The budgets of these separate schools are submitted to the county 
excise board by the county superintendent of education. 

The procedure for the preparation of school budgets is as fol- 
lows : 

1. For independent school districts. 

The board of education of each city independent school district 
is required to prepare, on or before the second Tuesday in May of 
each year, a statement of the financial condition of the school dis- 
trict together with a detailed estimate of receipts and proposed ex- 
penditures for the ensuing school year, i. e., July 1st of the current 
calendar year to June 30th of the following year ; and in the event 
that the assessed valuation of the said school district is not suffi- 
cient by a levy of five mills to create a fund necessary for the sup- 
port of the common schools of the district for the ensuing year, the 
board has the authority to call an election on or before the second 
Tuesday in May and thus submit the question of an excess tax levy 
to popular vote. 

Whether or not an excess tax levy is necessary, the board 
of education is required to submit to the county excise board, on 
or before the second Tuesday in July, its budget for the new fiscal 
year beginning on July 1st; and if an excess tax levy election has 
been held, to notify the excise board of that fact and of the result 
of the election. 

The county excise board meets on the last Saturday in July and 
continues in session, adjourning from day to day, until it has exam- 
ined tlie estimates and determined the appropriations for the new 
fiscal year. The appropriations for boards of education of inde- 
pendent school districts are required to be itemized so as to show 
separately the amount of funds appropriated for : 

(1) Salaries and compensation of officers and clerical em- 
ployees. 

(2) Salaries and compensation of teachers. 

(3) Office supplies, blank books, stationery, and printing. 

(4) Light, fuel, and water. 

(5) Library and school apparatus. 



FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING PROCEDURE 83 

(6) Furniture and fixtures. 

(7) Building sites and other real estate. 

(8) Construction of new buildings, with the appropriation 
for each building separately stated. 

(9) Maintenance and caretakers. 

(10) Other expenditures. 

Regardless of the items for current expenses or any vote there- 
on, the excise board is authorized to appropriate annually the 
amounts required for a sinking fund to pay bond interest and prin- 
cipal and for the payment of judgements. 1 

1 Session Laws, issue of 1921, Chapter 226 

The excise board has the authority to revise and correct any 
estimate by striking items therefrom, increasing items thereof, or 
adding items thereto, when in its opinion the needs of the municipal- 
ity shall require ; with the exception of where an excess tax levy 
has been approved by popular vote. 

In this event the excise board has neither the power to reduce 
the estimate unless the levy so voted shall be insufficient to meet 
the estimate. 

When the excise board has determined the appropriations for 
current expense and sinking fund purposes ''with ten per cent 
added thereto for delinquent tax, they shall make the levies there- 
for, after deducting from the total so computed the amount of any 
surplus balance or levy, ascertained to be on hand from the pre- 
vious fiscal year or years, together with amount of the probable 
income of each from all sources other than ad valorem taxation, 
provided that in no event shall the amount of estimated income ex- 
ceed the actual collections from such source for the previous fiscal 
year. The rates of levy for current expense purposes and sinking 
fund purposes shall be separately made and stated and the revenue 
accruing therefrom shall be known as the general fund and sinking 
fund respectively".! 

1 Session Laws, issue of 1921, Chapter 226 

When the estimates approved by the excise board have been 
certified to by the board of education, they become the legal appro- 
pi-iations within which the schools must be operated. No appro- 
l)riation may be used for any other fiscal year or purpose whatever, 
and no warrant issued in excess thereof. 



84 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

Subsequently, Avhatever the needKS of the school district shall 
require, the excise board may convene and make supplemental ap- 
propriations for current expenditures, provided that all such appro- 
priations come within the limitations of the Constitution and are 
not in excess of the school district revenue provided or accumulated 
for the year. The procedure incident to the request for and the 
granting of supplemental appropriations is similar to that incident 
to original appropriations, in that boards of education are requir- 
ed to file a statement of the financial condition of the school dis- 
trict at the close of the month next preceding the filing of request 
for supplemental appropriations and a statement of the amount 
and purpose of the requested appropriations. 

On the other hand, if the excise board ascertains the surplus 
revenue is insufficient for any additional needs of the county or 
other municipal subdivision, that board appears to have the author- 
ity to revoke or cancel in v^^hole or in part any appropriation or 
appropriations or parts thereof previously made to any school 
district and to make in lieu thereof such supplemental appropri- 
ations as in their judgment the interest of the public may require ; 
provided that no appropriation or part thereof may be revoked or 
cancelled against which there may be an unpaid claim or contract 
pending. 

It is to be presumed from the above that the excise board has 
the authority to convene and sanction the requests of the board 
of education for transfers from one appropriation to another pro- 
vided the funds exist and the aggregate of the original appropri- 
ations is not exceeded. 

The board of education of each town independent school district 
appears to function according to the same procedure in regard 
to estimates and appropriations as that prescribed for cities, includ- 
ing the authority to submit to popular A'ote the question of an 
excess tax levj^ not to exceed ten mills. 1 

1 School law, issue of 1921, Sec. 438. 

2. For non-independent school districts. 

(a) Each school district board of a non-independent school 
district is required to present at the annual meeting of the school 
district on the last Tuesday in March of each year a statement of 
the money raised by the district in the year and the purpose for 
which it was raised, and of the warrants drawn on the custodian 
for the past fiscal year. The board is required to meet also on the 



FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING PROCEDURE 85 

second Tuesday in July of each year and through its director 
present to the county excise board the budget of the school district 
for the fiscal year just beginning. The details of the procedure, 
including style of financial statements and estimates of receipts 
and expenditures, are very much the same as for independent 
school districts. The non-independent school districts also have 
the authority to levy by popular vote a ten mill additional tax. 1 

1 School law, issue of 1921, Sec. 438 and State Constitution, Article X, Sec. 9. 

(b) The separate schools which are under the jurisdiction of 
county superintendents have their budgets prepared by those offic- 
ials. 

The budgets of all separate schools are prepared in practically 
the same way and are subject to practically the same restrictions 
as the budgets for other schools. After appropriations to a sepa- 
rate school have been made by an excise board, that board at a 
subsequent meetmg may increase, revise, or reduce the appropri- 
ations. 
E. ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY. 

1. By Taxation. 

The school district board of any school district or the board 
of education of any independent school district, when the question 
has been submitted to and approved by popular vote, is authorized 
to contract for or acquire necessary buildings and additions there- 
to, to be paid for by an annual rental, and to levy an annual tax of 
not more than three mills for the payment of such rental ; provided 
the total tax levy is within the constitutional mill limitation. When 
such a contract is entered into and the total amount cannot be 
paid within ten years by the three mill levy, the question of an 
additional three mill annual levy may be also submitted to popular 
vote. The total amount of the increased levy, however, together with 
other indebtedness, must not exceed five mills on the dollar of the as- 
sessed value of taxable property in such school district. 

2. By bond issue. 

Any school district may issue bonds for the purpose of pur- 
chasing school sites, purchasing or erecting school buildings, pur- 
chasing furniture, or for repairing school buildings and grounds 
provided the amount together Avith existing indebtedness does not 
exceed five per cent (5 per cent) of the valuation of the taxable 
property within such school district as shown by the last preceding 
assessment for state and county purposes; and provided that the 



86 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

question has been submitted to popular vote and received tbe ap- 
proval of three-fifths of the voters voting theron. When the 
vote on such a question is in the affirmative, such approval carries 
with it the authorization annually of an additional tax levy sufficient 
to pay the interest on tlie bonds and to create a sinking- fund for 
the payment of the principal. 

When bonds are issued by independent school districts of 
cities, they must be payable within twenty-five years from date of 
issue, the interest on same may be not more than five per cent per 
aimum, and the bonds sold at not less than par. 

When bonds are issued by non-independent school districts, 
they must be payable within twenty years from date of 
issue, the denominations of the bonds limited to not less than one 
hundred dollars each, the interest on same limited to seven per 
cent per annum, and the bonds must be sold at not less than par; 
and if any commission has been allowed on their sale, the proceeds 
after deducting the commission must be equal to the par value of 
the bonds plus the accrued interest thereon. The provisions regard- 
ing the issuing of bonds by independent school districts in towns 
appear to be the same as those for cities. 

Every school district is authorized to refund not only its 
bonds, provided they have been outstanding not less than two yeai*s, 
but also other indebtedness including judgments and warrants; 
and to issue new bonds therefor to run for a period not to exceed 
twenty-five years, with interest thereon not to exceed six per cent, 
and the bonds to be sold at not less than par. 

The treasurers of independent school districts, and the county 
treasurers who are the treasurers of non-independent school dis- 
tricts, are authorized to invest sinking funds in United States 
bonds, the bonds or w^arrants of the state, county, city, town, town- 
ship, or school districts, provided the same are purchased at not 
less than par and accrued interest ; and all such treasurers are re- 
quired to deposit daily at not less than four per cent interest per 
annum all uninvested sinking funds, with the proviso that any 
school treasurer who fails to make such deposits is liable for double 
the amount of the interest lost. 

F. ACCOUNTING METHODS. 

The accounting methods of various schools visited vary from 
the elaborate and complex to the simple, elemental, and meagre. 



FINANCIAL, AND ACCOUNTING PROCEDURE 87 

The accounts of the schools maintained by the clerks of the 
boards of education appear to be designed primarily to show 
the costs of objects of expenditure ; i. e., salaries, heat and light, 
supplies, repairs, and the cost of each building and site, equipment, 
etc., etc., which accounts, of course, reflect the budgetary appro- 
priations. In only the larger school systems apparently are ac- 
counts maintained from which a balance sheet or an operating 
statement can be dra"\\ai. This is true also of the separate schools. 

The accounts of school treasurers vary between a duplica- 
tion of the detailed accounts of the clerk of the board of education 
to a maintenance of but two accounts one representing receipts 
and expenditures pertaining to the general fund, and the other 
representing the receipts and expenditures pertaining to the sink- 
ing fund. The school treasurers to a large extent are bank officers 
who, through their election as treasurers, bring the school accounts 
to their banks, which means that the school depositories are po- 
litically selected. 

All county treasurers in preparing their annual statements of 
school receipts and expenditures, which they are required to trans- 
mit to boards of education, use special accounting forms prescribed 
by the State Examiner and Inspector. 

In the offices of the county clerks, records are also maintained 
of school expenditures for not only the separate schools but also the 
district, to"vvn and city schools, both independent and non-independ- 
ent. These accounts are maintained as information for the county 
excise boards who exercise jurisdiction over the appropriations of 
all the schools. 

CRITICISMS AND CONSTRUCTIVE SUGGESTIONS. 
A. BUDGETARY PROCEDURE. 

The zeal with which Oklahoma has committed itself to the 
idea of budgetary control of public expenditures, as evidenced in 
the written law of the State, is deserving of the highest commend- 
ation. The preparation of a plan in regard to expenditures, and 
its review before adoption, are unquestionably good business, pro- 
vided the plan is not so elaborate and involved that its substance is 
obscured in a maze of detail. 

The incorporation of so much detail as to the presentation 
of budgetary data, which appears in the statutes of Oklahoma, 
and the forms of organization procedure prescribed for their re- 
view in so* far as they relate to the schools, is open to serious 



88 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

question. The effect of this policy is that the school law of 
Oklahoma abounds with financial restrictions and limitations. Un- 
qestionably every one of the restrictions and limitations has been 
inserted in the law with the belief and expectation that it would 
prevent loss or fraud. Undoubtedly, in numerous instances that 
has been the result ; but on the other hand these restrictions, which 
unfortunately are interwoven with conflicting ideas, have put the 
schools in such a financial straight- jacket that they have discourag- 
ed initiative and stunted the growth of individual responsibility, 
thereby reducing efficiency. 

1. Organization for financial control erroneous. 

The arrangement of financial control of the schools by the 
county excise board, from the viewpoint of education is erroneous 
for the following reasons : 

(a) The possibility of development and growth of educational 
policies is negative, by reason of the fact that the group is com- 
posed of conflicting interests, only one member of tlie board, the 
county superintendent of education, having any particular interest 
in educational results. 

(b) Authority of the excise board to revise and correct any 
school estimate by striking items therefrom, increasing items there- 
of, or adding items thereto, means that the management of the 
schools is virtually in the hands of that board, whereas only one 
member of the board, the county superintendent of education, has 
any responsibility for educational results. 

Only when an excess school tax, together with the financial 
statement which accompanies it, is endorsed by popular vote, and 
there is no question as to the funds being sufficient, is the excise 
board prohibited from exercising the above control. Otherwise 
the board has the power, if it desires to use it, to dictate educational 
policies and programs by determining salaries, kinds and quanti- 
ties of supplies, by deciding building, building site, and equipment 
acquisition, or repairs, and by influencing appointment and period 
of service of personnel. 

In so far as tlie separate schools are concerned, the county 
excise board has the authority at any time during a school year, to 
revoke and cancel a school's appropriation either in whole or in 
part, unless the same has been obligated by contract, if the board 
deems such action in the interest of the public. Upon this basis an 
excise board can withdraw money from the schools, whicli has been 



FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING PROCEDURE 89 

raised specifically for school purposes by taxation, and use it for 
building roads, maintaining the county jail, or any other county pur- 
pose, that the board may consider of greater importance than operat- 
ing the schools. 

During the school year of 1921-22 the excise board of Oklahoma 
County withdrew and cancelled forty nine hundred dollars in 
school appropriations. Whether or not the funds withdrawn 
were used for other than school purposes was not investigated. 
But it was reported that the excise board of one county in the 
State levied a school tax with no intention of using it for school 
purposes, but witli the intention of building a bridge with it, which 
they did. Whether or not this report is true, the possibility for 
such action • exists, and it violates a fundamental principle of 
taxation that the funds raised for a specific purpose are not avail- 
able for other purposes. Obviously any oth/n* action is breaking 
faith with the public. 

CONTROL SHOULD BE VESTED IN BOARD RESPONSIBLE 

FOR RESULTS. 

Instead of the schools of the towns and rural districts includ- 
ing the separate schools, being under the control of the county 
excise board, they should be under the jurisdiction of a county 
board of education. This board of education should be composed 
of members elected by popular vote. Their election should not 
be held when other public officials are being elected. Within 
certain mill limitations, the action of such a board of education as 
to budgetary appropriations, and the tax rate necessary there- 
for, should be mandatory upon the county excise board, assuming 
that the latter board continues to fjinction as a tax levying agency. 
Such an arrangement would make for public discussion of specific 
school problems and policies, would permit definite public decision 
in relation to those matters, and would establish definite responsi- 
bility for the execution of educational policies and programs. 

The above arrangement practically exists now as to boards 
of education of independent school districts which annually vote 
an excess school tax levy, except that the members of those boards 
are elected at the same time as other public officials, and except 
that the methods now prescribed in the school law for present- 
ing information to the public can be simplified and much im- 
proved. 



90 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

2. Methods of presenting information regarding school finance 
tends to confuse rather than to inform the public. 

The criticism that is to be made of the scheme of presenting 
to the public information regarding school finance, as provided 
in the laws of Oklahoma, is that it tends to confuse rather than 
to inform the public. This is a criticism to be made generally of 
the customary methods of presenting budget information, else- 
where as well as in Oklahoma ; and it is because the common method 
presents a confusion of the following ideas: 

(a) The public is asked to express itself as to how much it is 
willing to spend for school purposes as a whole during the year, 
i. e., A General Fund tax levy which includes current expenses for 
operation and upkeep of the schools and a minor investment in 
additions to buildings and equipment. Occasionally, the public 
is requested to express itself regarding a major investment, such 
as additional land, new and larger school buildings, and the equip- 
ment required for them. This expression takes the form of either 
an excess tax or an authorization to issue bonds; and in the latter 
case it includes the authority to levy annually a Sinking Fund tax 
for interest on and for a portion of the principal, the latter to 
be accumulated and thus pay the bonds when they become due. 

(b) The public is given a statement of the amount of money 
the schools desire to spend during the year for salaries, supplies, 
repairs, equipment, etc, etc. 

(c) The public is presented with a statement purporting to 
be the financial condition of the schools as of the close of the pre- 
vious fiscal year. 

The first of the above (a) is a statement of the character of 
expenditure and, in the form it is presented, it fails in its pur- 
pose because it is too general a statement to permit of intelligent 
discussion. If it were broken down into the amounts to be expend- 
ed for administration; day schools, subdivided into graded schools, 
high schools, general, vocational, and physical instruction; night 
schools, subdivided likewise; enforcement of compulsory education 
laws; promotion of health (medical inspection); library service; 
transportation of pupils ; and other educational activities ; operation 
of buildings and grounds ; repairs and replacements, additions and 
betterments ; it Avould present to the public a program for real dis- 
cussion, and would result in a more intelligent public interest in 
support of the schools. 



FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING PROCEDURE 91 

Without such specific information as this, the public must 
determine its support of the public schools on the basis of indefinite 
information, mis-information, or no information at all. A con- 
structive suggestion in the form of a concrete example, covering 
the above idea, is presented as Exhibit (1) accompanying this re- 
port. 

OKLAHOMA CITY SCHOOLS. 
STATEMENT OF EXPENDITURES BY FUNCTION, CHARACTER, AND 
OBJECT FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 1921-22. EXHIBIT I. 

CONSUMABLE EXPENSES 
Financing: 

Salaries and expenses of 

treasurer's office $ 631.74 

Fiscal agency fees and cost 

of exchange 995.06 

Interest 180,900.91 

Fidelity insurance 2,500.00 

Erection expense (vote on 

excess tax levy) 3,986.29 $189,014.00 10.8 11.8 

GENERAL CONTROL SERVICE 
Legislative Control (Board): 

Legal service $ 670.72 

Auditing service 1,073.03 .$1,747.75 

General Direction and Control: 

Superintendent's office 14,086.88 

Enforcement of compulsory 
education laws and cen- 
sus enumeration 3,184.75 17,271.63 

Property Supervision and Con- 
trol: 
Purchasing and accounting 8,869.98 

Storekeeping 3,500.63 

Building supervision 5,319.14 17,689.75 $36,705.03 2.1 Z.3 

INSTRUCTIONAL SERVICE 

Supervision $27,422.28 

Elementary instruction (Grade 
schools) : 

Salaries of principals $69,642.09 

Salaries of teachers 738,387.10 

Instructional supplies 23,966.17 831,995.36 

Secondary Instruction (High 
schools) : 

Salaries of principals 27,852.80 

Salaries of teachers 246,129.04 

Instructional supplies 7,988.73 281,970.57 $1,141,388.21 65.1 71.3 

OPERATION OF BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS 
Elementary Schools: 

Salaries of engineers and 

janitors x 

Engineers and janitors sup- 
plies X 

Fuel x 

Light and power x 

Water x 

Other operating expense x 110,255.77 



92 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

Secondary Schools: 

Salaries of engineers and 

janitors x 

Engineers and janitors sup- 
plies X 

Fuel X 

Light and power x 

Water x 

Other operating expenses.... x $47,252.48 $ 157,508.25 9. 9.8 

UPKEEP OF BUILDINGS, GROUNDS AND EQUIPMENT 
Elementary schools (Grade 
schools) : 

Repairs to grounds x 

Repairs to buildings x 

Repairs to equipment x 

Insurance x 

Other upkeep expenses x $36,420.58 

Secondary schools (high 
schools) : 

Repairs to grounds x 

Repairs to buildings x 

Repairs to equipment x 

Insurance x 

Other upkeep expenses x $15,609.00 $52,029.58 3. 3.3 

Miscellaneous Service: 

Library service $10,924.52 

Health service 8,850.85 

Playground activities 960.03 

Lectures commencement ex- 
ercises and other edu- 
cational activities 2,794.26 23,529.66 1.3 1.5 

Total Consumable Expense $1,600,174.73 91.3 100. 

INVESTMENT 
Outlays: 

Land and improvement to 

land $21,171.43 

Buildings 21,499.84 

Equipment 40,127.58 $82,798.85 5. 54.5 

Deduction of Debt: 

Bonds reduced and retired $69,000.00 ' 3.7 45.5 

Total investment $151,798.85 8.7 100. 

Grand Total $1,751,973.58 100. 

X Items thus designated could not be segregated within the time available 
for the analysis. 

The second of the above (b) is a statement of the objects of 
expenditure, that is to say, the elements which are to be used in 
carrying out the proposed program. It is entirely subsidiary 
to the first statement, and conveys very little information to the 
public in the form in which it is generally presented. To be of 
any value to the public, this statement should be accompanied by 
an explanation of the value of these elements expressed in educa- 
tional and economic results. For example, to be told that one 



FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING PRQCEDURE 93 

kind of gasoline costs 20 cents per gallon and another 25 cents, 
without any statement as to the approximate mileage which each 
will produce, gives the buyer no basis to decide which will be 
the more advantageous for him to purchase. 

The third of the above (c), is a statement of the financial 
condition of the schools as of a certain date : in other words, a 
balance sheet. In the form commonly presented, it is too technical 
for anyone but an expert accountant to understand. It is of value 
to the general public only when presented in simple form show- 
ing whether the assets of the schools at the end of a school year (or 
at any other date) are equal to, in excess of, or less than the liabili- 
ties. A constructive suggestion, in the form of a concrete example, 
covering this idea is presented as Exhibit (II) accompanying this 
report. 



94 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



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FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING PROCEDURE 95 

3. Methods prescribed for estimating revenues extraordinarily- 
conservative. 

The method prescribed in the school law for estimating reven- 
ues, which requires ten per cent to be added to the total estimate 
because of possible delinquent taxes, prior to deducting either 
a surplus on hand or revenues anticipated from other sources, 
is not only extraordinarily conservative, but undoubtedly beyond 
the intent of the legislature when enacting the law. It is reason- 
able to assume that the intent of the legislature was only to safe- 
guard the schools from loss by reason of delinquent taxes ; and that 
the requirement to deduct ten per cent from an existing surplus and 
ten per cent also from anticipated revenues which elsewhere in the 
law are held to amounts not in excess of what have been received 
in the preceding year, is due to an error in phraseology. Never- 
theless, the language is clear and the State Examiner and Inspector 
is undoubtedly correct in his ruling that the procedure shall be 
according to the letter of the law until the court rules otherwise 
or the legislature modifies the law. 

As a matter of fact the provision of the per cent deduction 
alone appears extremely conservative. An examination of the 
delinquent tax for the last five years pertaining to the Oklahoma 
City schools shows it in no year to have gone beyond 4.2 per cent, 
and one year as low as 2.9 per cent. An estimate of the Okla- 
homa County delinquent tax was given as averaging about 5 
per cent. Furthermore, the effect of estimating on this basis and 
prohibiting appropriations in excess thereof reduces the tax levy 
of 15 mills for school purposes authorized by the State Constitution 
to 131/2 mills. 

It is possible that a deduction of five per cent from the tax 
levied, because of possible delinquent taxes, might be quite suf- 
ficient. Figuring the General Fund requirements of the Oklahoma 
City Schools for 1922-23 on this latter basis, not deducting ten per 
cent from the estimated revenues, and including advance expenses 
(such as prepaid insurance and supplies in stockroom) as assets,* 
leaves a surplus of $193,500 (11.8 per cent of the 1922 General 
Fund tax levy) available for additional appropriation. True, if 
not appropriated this fiscal year it will be available for 1923-24; 
but in that event why levy this amount of tax a year ahead? If 
it is to be used next year, why not delay the levy until next year? 



96 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

It is possible that a corresponding deduction of only five per 
cent for delinquent taxes might not appear as favorably in other 
school districts; but the extraordinarily conservative procedure 
for estimating school revenues, which is now prescribed by the 
school law, should be modified. 

4. Duplication of appropriation accounts. 

The appropriation accounts of the city and town independent 
school districts are maintained in detail by the clerks of their 
boards of education. The county clerks of the counties in which 
these schools are located maintain these same appropriation ac- 
counts, but in condensed form. In view of the fact that the 
treasurers of these schools also maintain records of expenditures 
of these schools by funds, and the county excise boards could call 
for statements from both clerks of boards of education and school 
treasurers and thus obtain the information which they maintain 
their own records to obtain, the maintenance of these records by 
them seems an unnecessary duplication. 

If the non-independent district schools and the separate schools 
of each county were under a county board of education, as above 
recommended, then the appropriation accounts of those schools 
would be maintained by the clerks of those boards instead of by 
the county clerks as at present. In such an event the maintaining 
of these accounts by the county clerks also would not be necessary. 

B. ACCOUNTING METHODS. 

1. Practice of reporting revenues and expenditures under only 
the heads of General and Sinking Fund erroneous. 

The practice of only reporting school revenues and 
expenditures under the heads of General Fund and Sinking 
Fund is erroneous because of the fact that the public is 
also taxed specifically for land, building, and equipment 
acquisition as well as for their repair and replacement. 
The public may also be taxed specifically, under certain 
conditions, for playground purposes. 

As previously stated, it is a fundamental principal 
of taxation that funds raised for specific purposes should 
be expended only for those purposes. Accordingly, under 
the school law as it now stands, the revenues and expendi- 
tures of the schools should be reported under the following 
heads : 



FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING PROCEDURE 97 

(a) General Fund, covering receipts and expenditures 
for school administration and operation, including 
maintenance of buildings and grounds. 

(b) Sinking Fund, covering revenues and expenditures 
for interest on and the retirement of school bonds 
issued and outstanding. 

(c) Building Fund, covering revenues and expenditures 
for land, building and equipment acquisition, repair 
and replacement. 

(d) Playground Fund, covering revenues and expenditures 
for playground activities. 

The common practice in regard to receipts and ex- 
penditures pertaining to playgrounds is to treat them as 
items under and belonging to the General Fund. 

The common practice in regard to revenues and ex- 
penditures pertaining to land, T^uilding and equipment 
acquisition, repairs and replacements, when those funds 
have been raised by taxation, is to treat them as items 
belonging to the General Fund. When the funds are raised 
by the issue of bonds, the receipts and expenditures are 
treated as items belonging to the Sinking Fund. 

It will be seen from the above that each of the funds 
shows two kinds of expenditures; i. e., expense, and in- 
vestment. It would be better accounting practice, and 
more enlightening to the public, as well as to the school 
world, itself, if : 

(1) General Fund revenues Avere applicable when ex- 
pended only to current expense, and covered items 
which either left no tangible evidence such as gas 
consumed or, if physically evident (such as repairs and 
replacements), represented no additional property in- 
vestment. 

(2) Building Fimd revenues (whether the result of tax- 
ation or bond issue) when expended were applicable 
only to, and Avhen made represented acquisition or 
betterment of land, buildings, and equipment. 

(3) Sinking Fund revenues when expended were appli- 
cable only to bond principal and interest. 

This is assuming that, instead of incorporating into law 
an amount which can be levied specifically for such activi- 

s. s. 4 



98 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

ties as playgrounds, the activity be either authorized or 
required. An example of this idea is seen in the provision 
applicable to school libraries now incorporated in the 
school law. 

2. Appropriation accounts reflect objects of expenditure with 
little regard to purpose or character. 

The appropriation accounts, as prescribed in the school 
law, reflect objects of expenditure, i. e., elements to be 
used; and in the form presented, they may be likened to 
a stockroom requisition. They give the public a very limi- 
ted idea as to purchasing costs ; and in regard to the purpose 
or character for which they are to be used, they give 
little information. The following, for example, are appro- 
'' priation accounntsi which are used in certain of the school 

districts. 

(a) Salaries of teachers, and (b) light, fuel, and other 
supplies, which are elements of current expense be- 
longing to operation. 

(c) Maintenance of buildings and grounds, including jani- 
tor service, which are a mixture of operation and 
upkeep. 

(d) Furniture and fixtures, which may be replacements 
or acquisitions. 

(e) Improvements, repairs, and purchase of building sites, 
which are a mixture of upkeep and investment. 

(f) Library and school apparatus, which are a mixture 
of purpose, replacement and acquisition. 

(g) Interest and payment of bonds, which are a mix- 
ture of fixed charges (current expense) and invest- 
ment (increase in ownership resulting from decrease 
in debt.) 

(h) Payment of judgments, which may represent delayed 
payment for current expense, or property acquisition. 

In view of the fact that such a<3C0unts as the above are 
but detail information supporting purpose and character 
of expenditure, if they are to be used as mediums for ap- 
propriation, they should at least be segregated according 
to purpose and character. 



FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING PROCEDURE 99 

3. Appropriation accounts not followed explicitly when incur- 
ring expenditures or obligations. 

The appropriation accounts as approved by the county 
excise boards do not api)ear to be followed explicity by 
the schools when incurring expenditures or obligations. 
This is apparently due to the impression which prevails 
that, as long as the sum total of all the appropriations is 
not exceeded, the expenditures or obligations in excess of or 
below the amount of any individual appropriation do not 
matter. It may be also due to the impression which pre- 
vails in some localities that when once an excise board has 
determined appropriations for a school year the board 
either has not the authority or is unwilling to meet subse- 
quently and revise or increase school appropriations. This 
idea is due either to a misunderstanding or to a lack of 
• knowledge of the school law. 

4. Financial statements issued in form of balance sheets with- 
out being- accompanied by operation statements. 

The financial statements of the schools, prepared in the 
form prescribed in detail by the school law, are balance 
sheets, to use accounting phraseology. They should also be 
accompanied by operation statements. 

A balance sheet is a statement showing financial con- 
dition as of a certain date. An operation statement shows 
financial progress between two periods of time. The first 
is in the nature of an instantaneous photograph; the sec- 
ond, a moving picture. Information as to the financial 
condition of a school district at the beginning of a fiscal 
year is, of course, essential as a starting point in planning 
the school's financial program for the year. But, in order 
to plan for the future, it is of the greatest assistance to 
know what has been done in the past ; and an operation 
statement gives this information. 

In regard to the balance sheets themselves, most of the 
school balance sheets examined were deficient in inform- 
ation as to whether the surplus shown was available for 
further appropriation, or whether it represented but a state- 



100 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

ment of the difference between the cash received and the 
obligations recorded to date. Accounts receivable and un- 
vouchered obligations were conspicious by their absence. 
As constructive suggestions, balance sheets of the General 
Fund, Sinking Fund, Playground Fund, and Separate Fund 
of the Oklahoma City schools as of July 1st, 1922, giving 
this information, are presented as Exhibits (III), (IV), (V), 
and (VI), accompanying this report. 



FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING PROCEDURE 



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106 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

In preparing these balance sheets but 5 per cent has 
been allowed for delinquent taxes, and certain advance ex- 
penditures such as prepaid insurance and stockroom as- 
sets have been included. On this basis the General Fund 
shows $193,499.84, the Playground Fund shows $703.28, and 
the Separate Fund shows $12,344.13 available for additional 
appropriations. In terms of percentage these amounts are 
10.6 per cent, and 5.5 per cent, and 9.2 per cent, respectively, 
of the existing appropriations. 

The balance sheet of the Sinking Fund shows an excess 
of assets over liabilities, both applicable to the current year, 
of $84,154.27. If, in addition, the Sinking Fund cash and 
the Sinking Funds invested in school warrants (without in- 
terest) were invested and bearing 5 per cent interest, the 
Sinking Fund surplus for 1922-23 would approximate 
$111,000, which amount is 66 per cent of the Sinking Fund 
tax levied for 1923. 

In regard to operation statements, a constructive sug- 
gestion in the form of an operation statement of the Okla- 
homa County non-independent school districts combined 
(rural district, village district, consolidated and separate 
schools, the latter excluding the separate schools in Okla- 
homa City school district, as of July 1st, 1922, is present- 
ed as Exhibit (VII) accompanying this report.) (See page 
107.) This statement allows 10 per cent for delinquent 
taxes, and it shows a total of $90,543.08 available for ad- 
ditional appropriations. 



FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING PROCEDURE 



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FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING PROCEDURE 109 

Financial statements showing functional expenditures, can 
be developed to further advantage. 

The value of any financial system showing school ex- 
penditures by function is in proportion to the clearness in 
which it is presented. Its value is increased when present- 
ed in a form comparable with that used by other schools. 
Many of the city school systems are presenting such state- 
ments. These statements, however, can be further develop- 
ed to advantage. A constructive suggestion along this 
line, in the form of a comparative statement of the function- 
al expenditures of the Oklahoma and Okmulgee city schools, 
and the Oklahoma County district schools, is presented as 
Exhibit (VIII) accompanjdng this report. (See page 110.) 

This statement shows in the fiscal year of 1921-22, that 
91.3 per cent of the expenditures of the Oklahoma City 
schools was consumable expense, and 8.7 per cent was 
investment ; that 75.7 per cent of the Okmulgee City schools 
was consumable expense, and 24.3 per cent was investment; 
and that 86.4 per cent of the Oklahoma County schools was 
consumable expense, and 13.6 per cent was investment. Of 
the total for consumable expense, Oklahoma City schools 
used 71.3 per cent for instructional service, Okmulgee 68.7 
per cent, and Oklahoma County 67.1 per cent. 

Other similar comparisons are made ; one being that 
Okmulgee spends for instructional supervision, includ- 
ing educational tests and measurements, proportionately 
twice as much as OBahoma City does. 

It would bo interesting to loiow if this additional ex- 
pense for tests and measurements is responsible in any 
way for the reduced per cent of the total expenditure for 
instructional service. VVhenever statements of functional 
expenditures of different schools are compared in this 
manner they are found to be prolific in information which 
can be used advantageously in determining educational 
policies and programs. 



no 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



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J12 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

6. School District annual statistical reports to State Superin- 
tendent of Education, subject to improvement. 

The annual statistical report made by school districts 
to the State Superintendent of Education, in so far at 
least as financial statistics are concerned, can be materially 
improved. In the form now prepared, the cost of items 
pertaining to a previous fiscal year may overlap those of the 
current year without discovery; and the cash summary 
of receipts and expenditures consists of all funds combined 
in one. This form can with advantage be redesigned so 
as to segregate expenditures by character; it should also be 
coordinated with the form covering the finances of school 
districts, prescribed by the State Examiner and Inspector, 
which treasurers of school districts, including county treas- 
urers, prepare and submit to county excise boards. 

C. FINANCING METHODS. 

1. Bond issues pemiissable on too liberal a basis. 

The school law of Oklahoma permits the issue of bonds 
by any school district for not only acquisition of property 
such as land, buildings and equipment but also for repairs 
to such property, when approved by three-fifths of the citi- 
zens voting at an election held thereon, and provided that 
the amount of the bonds together with existing indebted- 
ness of the schools does not exceed five per cent of the tax- 
able property of the district. 

School districts with the permission of the court are 
also authorized to issue bonds for the purpose of refund- 
ing indebtedness, including bonds, judgments,, and war- 
rants. 

This is too liberal a basis on which to issue bonds to 
be sound finance. Repairs are current expense, and should 
never be funded out of other than current revenues. Judg- 
ments and warrants may represent expenses of current or 
previous years, or they may represent property acquisition ; 
if the former, this policy means permission to postpone, up 
to twenty-five years, the payment of salaries, supplies, and 
other consumable expense, should a school district so de- 
sire. 



FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING PROCEDURE 113 

However, it appears that the Supreme Court of Okla- 
homa has held as unconstitutional the provision in the school 
law permitting, by means of bond issue, the liquidating of 
Avarrants issued for current expenses in excess of current 
revenues or for liquidating other indebtedness even though 
it may be for services and material from which the munici- 
pal corporation has received a benefit. But for this de- 
cision of the Court, the other provisions in the law with 
regard to holding expenditures within appropriations wouli 
be nullified by this refunding provision. 

2. Authority to use sinking funds to pay judgments, unsound 
finance. 

The authority to use sinking funds to pay judgments is 
unsound finance for the same reason that the issue of bonds 
to pay judgments is questioned. 

If the judgment covers consumable expense it should 
be liquidated by tax levy for the reason that the expense 
which the judgment represents is unlawful unless it has been 
incurred in accordance with an appropriation; and should 
the revenues not be forthcoming, upon which the appro- 
priation 'has been predicated, the unintentional overdraft 
should be made good out of the ensuing year's revenues. It 
is not the kind of a debt that one generation should ask 
another generation to share through having its payment 
run over a period of years. 

If the judgment covers property acquisition in excess 
of debt limitation within which a bond issue, if approved 
by popular vote, would be legal, then the judgment should 
be liquidated by tax levy. This is assuming that the prop- 
erty acquisition has been authorized by appropriation. Any 
other policy opens the door to subterfuge. This is obvious 
in districts where school buildings have been built at a 
cost in excess of bond issues permissible within constitu- 
tional debt limitation on the chance that once the building 
was erected equity Avould permit the excess cost to be paid 
by judgment. If the law is too restrictive to meet the needs 
of the schools the step to take is to am^end the law, not to 
put one's foot through it. If constitutional provision stands 
in the way of thus amending the statutes steps should be 
taken to amend the constitutional provision. 



114 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKX-AHOMA 

3. Policy in regard to investing- Sinking Funds, questionable. 

In addition to investing sinking funds in United States 
and Oklahoma state bonds, the statutes authorize their in- 
vestment in the bonds and warrants of any municipality in 
the State, including school districts. Acting upon this 
authorization independent school districts are investing 
their sinking funds in their o^vn warrants. This is ques- 
tionable practice for the following reasons : 

(a) If the Sinking Fund is invested in the debtor's 
own bonds or obligations, its existence is not of the least 
advantage to the creditor. It gives him no additional se- 
curity, — legal, equitable, or honorary. It is a worthless de- 
vice so far as he is concerned. (The Sinking Fund — Brown) 

(b) The earning power of the sinking fund is apt to 
be reduced by reason of holding it idle or earning but de- 
positary interest awaiting its investment in sinking funds; 
and its earnings are nil when no interest is paid on the 
warrants. 

The latter condition exists in regard to the sinking 
funds of the Oklahoma City school district. Based on the 
idea that it is an economic waste to pay interest to itself, 
this school district has adopted the policy of paying no in- 
terest on its warrants when purchased by its sinking funds. 
The result of this policy is that on July 1st, 1922, this school 
district had $205,373.83 sinking fund cash on deposit earn- 
ing but depositary interest, and $527,104.76 of sinking funds 
invested in school warrants of its own and of the separate 
schools imder its jurisdiction, earning no interest. These 
two added together make a total of $732,478.59. 

Assuming that $700,000 of this amount might be in- 
vested at 5 per cent (based on the present value of money) 
in good securities, the sinking funds are losing, on an annual 
basis, $35,000 less the depositary interest (say $8,000) re- 
ceived, or $27,000 net. As an offset to this net amount what 
has the school district saved in interest which it would other- 
wise be paying on its warrants ? Figuring 6 per cent annual 
interest on outstanding unpaid Avarrants at the end of each 
month from July 30th, 1921, to June 30th, 1922, and adding 
these twelve amounts together, the interest on the warrants 
would have cost the school district, $25,960.56. This is assum- 



FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING PROCEDURE 115 

ing that a bank, to obtain the school account, might be will- 
ing to loan money on its warrants at six per cent ; and par- 
ticularly so, if the school law was amended to permit a school 
district issuing short time notes in anticipation of tax levies. 
If such an amendment could be obtained the work incident 
to figuring, entering, and posting the interest applicable to 
each warrant, Avhich takes much time and costs much money, 
wherever interest is paid on warrants, would be eliminated. 
On the other hand, where a school district actually saves 
money by this policy, the saving is not commensurate with 
the other evils which it engenders. 

4. The issue of Sinking Fund bonds a costly method of 
financing. 

The theory upon which the issue of sinking fund bonds 
is based is : first, that by levying a tax annually for a por- 
tion of the total of the bonds, instead of waiting and levying 
a tax for the full amount when the bonds are due is less 
burdensome upon the taxpayer; and second, that by invest- 
ing each year that portion of the principal which has been 
levied, the sum of the amounts levied, together with the in- 
terest they earn, will pay the bonds at their maturity and 
thus effect their payment at a less cost to the taxpayer than 
would otherwise be the case. 

This theory has proven a fallacy in many instances, 

with the result that many municipalities have discontinued 

the issue of sinking fund bonds and now issue only serial 

bonds. Chamberlain in his "Principles of Bond Investment" 

(1911) presents the following argument: 

"Sinking funds do not amortize a debt; they merely 
convert it or offset it. The only way to sink a debt is to pay 
it. The simple, rational, and economic way to pay a debt 
is to pay it in approximately equal periodic installments. 
This is the serial bond method. ' ' 

"Sinking funds are not only liable to misappropriation, 
unwise investment, suspension, and the like, but they are 
costly. Their average earnings are little, if any, over 3 per 
cent. Serial bonds require a minimum of expense and pro- 
duce a maximum of security. When a bond issue is serial 
the investment grows safer as it grows older." 



116 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

Chandler in "Tlie Metropolitan Debts of Boston and Vicinity. 
Sinking Fund and Serial Bond Methods Compared" presents figures 
showing that on $1,000,000 at 4 per cent for twenty years the inter- 
est charges by the serial bond method is $114,426 less than the net 
interest charges by the sinking fund method. 

In addition, it is in order at this point to call attention to the 
item "Commission to Fiscal Agency" which appears in the Okla- 
homa school accounts as a charge against the Sinking Fund. If this 
charge covers fees incident to the sale of bonds, and the net amount 
derived therefrom after this charge has been deducted is less than 
the par value of the bonds plus accrued interest, this charge against 
the Sinking Fund is subterfuge and circumvents the provision of the 
school law which prohibits the sale of bonds on such a basis. On 
the other hand, if the charge is a fee for serving as the fiscal depos- 
itory, payment should be made from the General Fund instead of 
from the Sinking Fund as it is a current expense item. 

CONCLUSION 

In conclusion, the major criticism of the public schools of Okla- 
homa, from the financial point of view, is that they are not under 
the financial jurisdiction and control of those who are responsible 
for educational results. This control should be vested in the boards 
of education; and until it is so vested, they cannot be held respon- 
sible for educational policies and programs. 

The minor criticism is that the methods of financial and ac- 
counting procedure in the various educational institutions, elemen- 
tary, secondary, and higher negative, are deficient in producing 
digested financial information necessary for administrative and 
financial review; and the methods lack co-ordination. In fact, a 
general reorganization of school financial procedure is necessary if 
the schools ar.e to function as an independent, constructive, educa- 
tional force. 

In order to bring the above about, the various school laws and 
other laws relating thereto, now providing in detail the manner of 
preparing financial statements and estimates of revenues and ex- 
penditures pertaining to the schools, should be amended so as 
to eliminate that detail and instead provide a general grant of power. 

When school budgets are approved by the boards of education 
having jurisdiction any school levy incident thereto, provided it is 
within limitations provided in the statutes and State Constitution, 
should be mandatory upon the tax levying bodies. 



FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING PROCEDURE 117 

The following amendments to the school law are suggested. 

(1) County boards of education should be created, and vested 
with authority to review and approve budgets of all non-independent 
schools within their jurisdiction, provided that all tax levies incident 
to those budgets should be within mill limitations as to taxation for 
school purposes which now exist in the statutes and State Constitu- 
tion, or which m,ay be hereafter amended. 

(2) Board of education for independent school districts should 
be vested with the same authority as above set forth for the pro- 
posed county boards of education. 

(3) The State board of education should have authority to 
review and approve budgets of subsidiary educational boards, which 
cover different groups of educational activities; the approval of 
these budgets should be subject to such financial limitations as the 
Legislature may prescribe. 

(4) All county and school district tax levies for school pur- 
poses should be made in accordance with the following subdivisions : 

(a) General Fund, Covering current expenses, including play- 
ground activities now a separate levy, and including all 
repairs and replacements of land, buildings and equip- 
ment; with the exception of interest on bonds. 

(b) Building Fund_, Covering all expenditures for additional 
land, buildings, and equipment, or for additions to exist- 
ing land, buildings, and equipment. 

(c) Sinking Fund, Covering expenditures for bond interest 
and principal. 

(5) The State Board of Education should be vested with auth- 
ority to prescribe all details as to school budget procedure, including 
the preparation of financial statements and estimates of revenues 
and expenditures; provided that the details of such accounting 
forms as may be required to secure financial data from other sources 
than school officials, which may be required in the consideration of 
school policies, shall be prescribed by the State Examiner and 
Inspector. 

(6) Whenever the budget of a school district has been ap- 
proved by the board of education having jurisdiction, all tax levies 
incident thereto should be mandatory upon the tax levying agency 
of the district. 



118 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

(7) The State Board of Education should be vested with auth- 
ority to prescribe the methods of recording- all school data, both 
statistical and financial which shall be maintained in the different 
school systems of the State, and to require such periodical reports 
from the schools as it may deem necessary. 



CHAPTER V. 
ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION. 

Problems of organization and administration of rural schools, 
and of village and city schools, are discussed in the two Chapters 
dealing with these schools. In this Chapter will be found a brief 
discussion of the provisions needed in order that State leadership 
and direction in public education may be made more effective. 

There are two major considerations affecting educational con- 
ditions in Oklahoma: 

(1) Inadequate and unsystematic financial support, the rem- 
edies for which are discussed in Chapter III; and (2) certain limita- 
tions on the functioning of vital and effective leadership, the remedy 
for which is an enlarged and strengthened State Department of 
Education. 

Let us consider, first, what are the functions which should be 
discharged by the agency which is responsible for State leadership 
in education, and what are the essential features of the administra- 
tive machinery which will make this leadership effective. 

ADMINISTRATIVE FEATURES OF A STATE SYSTEM OF 

PUBLIC EDUCATION. 

The history of education in the United States shows very clearly 
the acceptance of the theory of responsibility of the several States 
for public education within their borders and the development of 
the State as the administrative unit in education. The plans which 
have been adopted in the States are not uniform, however, nor is 
there the same degree of centralization. 

The various State systems of education have been modified 
from time to time in the light of experience, so that existing plans 
may be said to be the result of a process of evolution. ''The de- 
velopment of State oversight and control has come gradually, and 
may be traced in the State constitutions, the laws, and the decisions 
of the courts."* 

♦Cubberley-Elliott: State and County School Administration; p. 143. 

Oklahoma is now in the position of coiisidering what changes, 

119 



120 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

if any, to make in the State system of public education for the next 
few years, and has the opportunity to profit by her own experience 
and that of other States. The folloAving analysis of the administra- 
tive features of a State system of education suggests the more im- 
portant points which should be considered. 

1. Unification of general control. — A decision should be reached 
as to the extent or degree of centralization of control to be adopted 
as a State policy. This report recommends that whatever changes 
are made in existing arrangem^ents should be in the direction of fur- 
ther centralization of general control and unification of the entire 
system of education. As indicated elsewhere definite provision 
should be made for local initiative and local control of details under 
general regulations, but it is important to think of all phases of pub- 
lic education within the State as parts of a single, unified, coordi- 
nated system. 

The various types of education should be developed in relation 
one to the other, and in proportion to their function in a general, 
comprehensive plan. As in a city it has not been thought wise to 
have one board in charge of elementary schools, another in charge 
of high schools, another in charge of personnel, and so on ; so, it is 
believed, in a State definite provision should be made for the con- 
sideration of the educational system as a whole, and the relative 
needs of the various parts. 

This can be accomplished only by making coordination and 
ninification a definite responsibility of some State agency designated 
for this purpose. 

2. Determination of objectives. — One of the most important 
functions of the agency which may be charged with the responsi- 
bility of general oversight is to bring about some acceptable deter- 
mination of the objectives of public education. The citizens of a 
State, and even the educators themselves, do not always have a 
clear conception of the ends sought to be accomplished by the var- 
ious parts of the educational system. A clear definition of the aims 
and purposes of public elementary education in the State of Okla- 
homa would assist materially in solving the problem now before 
the people. The same thing may be said of secondary education, of 
higher education, and of special forms of education. This function 
can hardly be performed by any agency which is not able impar- 
tially and judicially to evaluate the services and harmonize the en- 
thusiasms of all the individuals, groups, and institutions which, 
together, make up the system. 



ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION 121 

3. Definition of functions and responsibilities. Having deter- 
mined the objectives of the various parts of the system, it will then 
be possible to make a corresponding assignment of functions and 
division of responsibilities. 

4. Coordination. — Coordination of the activities of the several 
parts of the sj'stem is essential if consistent progress is to be made 
toward realization of the objectives set up. Such coordination 
should be specifically provided for, and some officer or board should 
be charged with the duty of securing it. 

5. Determination of standards. — Since the immediate manage- 
ment of the schools is in the hands of local boards, the State must 
exercise its function of general control through legislative enact- 
ments and regulatory promulgations. These take the form, in part, 
of prescriptions of minimum standards which are to be maintained. 
These standards relate to compulsory school attendance, courses of 
instruction, qualifications and compensation of teachers, and the 
like. Upon the State also rests the duty of equalizing education 
opportunities for all. 

6. Adequate financial support. — Participation by the State in 
the financial support of public education is a necessary corollary of 
the principle of State control, and the principle of minimum stand- 
ards set by the State. 

7. Preparation of the budget. — The importance of having and 
living- up to a budget is no less in educational affairs than in the 
conduct of other public and private business. Furthermore, the 
preparation of a budget furnishes an additional reason for a uni- 
fied State system of education. 

8. Selection, training and certification of personnel. — One of 
the most important functions of the State system of education is 
discharged in its dealing with the problem of the supply of ade- 
quately prepared teachers. 

9. Progressive development. — It is not sufficient to establish 
an educational system for today; definite provision should be made 
for future growth and development. The plan of organization 
should look toward progressive improvement and increasing effi- 
ciency. To this end effective and aggressive leadership at the 
various levels should be definitely provided for. 

10. Legislation. — Continuous expert study of the legislative 
basis of the State educational system is essential, as well as of the 
plans and policies adopted in other States. 



122 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

11. Publicity. — The schools belong to the people, and provision 
should be made for keeping them informed as to the goals toward 
which the schools are working, the progress they are making, and 
in general what returns they show on the investment which the 
people have made in them. 

CONDITIONS UNFAVORABLE FOR THE EXERCISE OF 

LEADERSHIP. 

These desirable ends can be only partially realized under ex- 
isting conditions in Oklahoma, which are distinctly unfavorable to 
the exercise of leadership. 

(1) The first serious defect in the State administrative plan 
for education is found in the large number of unrelated boards and 
offices having to do with educational affairs. 

LIST OF BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, AND OFFICES HAVING 

TO DO WITH EDUCATIONAL AFFAIRS IN THE 

STATE OF OKLAHOMA. 

State Board of Agriculture. 

A. & M. College, Stillwater. 

Connor School of Agriculture, Warner. 

Cameron School of Agriculture, Lawton. 

Panhandle School of Agriculture, Goodwell. 

Murray School of Agriculture, Tishomingo. 
State Department of Education. 
State Examiner and Inspector. 
Commissioners of State Land Office. 

State Board of Public Affairs. 

Eastern State Home for Orphans, Pryor. 

Western State Home for Orphans, Helena. 

Institute for Feeble-minded, Enid. 

Colored Deaf, Blind and Orphan Institute, Taft. 

State Training School for Negro Girls, Taft. 

State Training School for White Boys, Pauls Valley. 

State Industrial School for Girls, Tecumseh. 

State Training School for Negi'o Boys, McAlester. 

State Board of Education. 

Southeastern State Normal School, Durant. 
Central State Normal School, Edmond. 
Northwestern State Normal School, Alva. 
East Central State Normal School, Ada. 



ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION 123 

Southwestern State Normal School, Weatherford. 
Northeastern State Normal School, Tahlequah. 
School for the Blind, Muskogee. 
School for the Deaf, Sulphur. 

Oklahoma Library Commission. 

Americanization Commission. 

State Commissioner of Health. 

Board of Control for Military Training- in Schools. 

State Textbook Commission. 

Board of Regents, School of Mines, Wilburton. 

Board of Regents, School of Mines, Miami. 

Board of Regents, Oklahoma Military Academy, Claremore. 

Board of Regents, Oklahoma Business Academy, Tonkawa. 

Board of Regents, Colored Agriculture and Normal University, 

Lang-ston. 
Board of Regents, University of Oklahoma, Norman. 
Board of Regents, Oklahoma College for Women, Chickasha. 

In addition to these State boards are to be found County excise 
boards, County boards of education, and urban boards of education, 
with no adequate provision for coordination, and with indefinite 
relationships as to mutual responsibilities. The functons and re- 
sponsibilities of these various agencies are discussed in appropriate 
places in other Chapters. It is sufficient, at this point, to call atten- 
tion to the grave obstacles in the way of developing a real "system" 
of public education along these lines. 

COMPOSITION OF BOARDS FAULTY. 

(2) Even if it were possible to conduct a system of education 
through a multiplicity of boards such as this, the work would be 
done most inefficiently because of the way in which certain of the 
boards are constituted. Sound principles of administration demand 
a clear division of responsibility between the board of trustees and 
the expert executives and subordinates employed by it. 

The board of trustees should consist of representatives of the 
people, the patrons who are to be served by the schools, and should 
confine its activities to the consideration and formulation of policies, 
the selection of experts to execute these policies, and the periodical 
inspection of the work of its executives in order to see that policies 
are carried out and the desired results secured. 

The executive officers and other educational experts employed 
by the board should be chosen solely for their professional qualifica- 



124 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

tions and demonstrated fitness for the special work to be done. The 
details of school managenxent and direction must be left to those 
who have prepared themselves for this special Avork. Thus, for ex- 
ample, no board should undertake to select a teacher of chemistry ; 
this is a highly technical responsibility which should be delegated 
to a technically qualified expert. 

EECOMMENDATIONS OF LEADERS FREQUENTLY 

DISREGARDED. 

(3) A third factor affecting educational progress in Oklahoma 
is the frequent disregard of the counsel and suggestions of the edu- 
cational leaders of the State. Many of the recommendations em- 
bodied in this Survey Report have been urged repeatedly in the 
past by State, County, and city superintendents, and others who 
have made close study of conditions and needs in Oklahoma. 

For example, the State Department of Education has for years 
been recommending the enactment of legislation looking toward 
the establishment of the county unit of organization and adminis- 
tration of elementary and secondary schools. Educators in all parts 
of the State, individually and through their professional organiza- 
tions, have urged the necessity of higher standard of qualifications 
for teachers. The imperative need of relief in the matter of Con- 
stitutional restrictions has been demonstrated over and over again. 
Many instances could be cited of progressive recommendations 
originating from those in position of educational leadership in 
Oklahoma, which have come to nought, beqause they have been 
rejected without due examination, or because of complexity of 
administrative machinery and diffusion of responsibility for action. 

If the educational leaders in the State had in the past been able 
to lay before a single State board of education, composed of influ- 
ential and representative citizens definitely conscious of responsi- 
bility for action, a comprehensive statement of the educational needs 
of Oklahoma, together with recommendations and a constructive 
program, it seems reasonable to suppose that rftany more of these 
suggestions would have been carried into effect. 

A REORGANIZED STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. 

The following paragraphs outline definite proposals for the re- 
organized State Department of Education. 



Tf 



ORGANIZATION AND ADMINIST^RATION 125 

STAFF OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. 

The salary paid to the State superintendent of public instruc- 
tion, or State commissioner of education, should be considered as an 
index of the importance of the responsibilities of the office, and an 
index of the realization of their importance on the part of the cit- 
izens of the State. The influence of these considerations is reflected 
in a definite tendency toward higher salaries, but a number of States 
are still practicing- a false and costly economy in this matter. 

A study of the State departments of education* shows that in 
only six cases in 1920 were State superintendents paid less than 
$3,000 ; 13 received $3,000 to $3,600 ; 11 received $4,000 to $4,600 ; 
9, $5,000; 2, $6,000; 2, $7,500; 1, $8,000; 1, $9,000; 2, $10,000; 1, 
$12,000. The loAvest salary paid was $2,000, Nebraska ; the highest, 
$12,000, Pennsylvania ; the average salary was $4,647.91. 

♦Organization of State departments of education, Bulletin 1920, No. 46. 

The total payroll for the staff of the State department of educa- 
tion was less than $25,000 in 9 States ; in 20 States the amount was 
over $25,000, and less than $50,000 ; in 8 States $50,000 to $75,000 ; 
in, 5 States $75,000 to $100,000 ; in 3 States $100,000 to $200,000 ; in 
3 States over $200,000. The lowest total payroll was $15,750, 
Nevada ; the highest, $822,900, New York ; the average, $72,681.16. 

The total payroll for Oklahoma in 1920 was reported as $26,600. 
Oklahoma needs a much better equipped department of education 
even for the maintenance and direction of the present school system. 
If the State is to undertake an educational program, such as is out- 
lined in this report, and to carry it out intelligently, effectively, and 
economically, the need for a more potent agency for leadership is 
imperative. 

The Survey, therefore, recommends the establishment of the 
salary of the State superintendent or commissioner of education at 
$7,500, with other salaries in proportion, and the increase of the 
salary budget to $102,000, to be reached by 1925, as follows : 

With the development of the forward program it will undoubt- 
edly be necessary to increase certain of the salaries suggested in 
the foregoing budget, and to add the following: two assistants to 
the director of educational research; two assistants to the director 
of physical education; supervisor of music; supervisor of art edu- 
cation; assistant specialist in school buildings and grounds; 6 cler- 
ical assistants. 



126 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

PERSONNEL OF THE STAFF. 

In the appointment of the Commissioner of education the State 
board of education should canvass the entire United States and en- 
deavor to select a man of successful experience in large enterprises 
and of broad vision in educational affairs, who is capable of assum- 
ing a position of leadership which will carry the citizens and the 
teachers of the State unitedly to the consummation of the great task 
ahead. 

For assistant commissioner in charge of teacher training should 
be chosen someone of outstanding achievements in this field, whose 
special assignment will be to improve the qualifications of the teach- 
ers now in service, and to assist in the development of the State 
plans for the preparation of teachers. It should be the function of 
this office to educate the citizens of Oklahoma to an appreciation of 
the significance of the service rendered by professionally qualified 
and devoted teachers, as well as to inspire and lead the teachers 
themselves. 

It should be the duty of the assistant commissioner in charge 
of school administration to work primarily "with county and city 
superintendents, principals of schools, and others having adminis- 
trative responsibilities. By means of conferences for the discussion 
of special problems, bulletins, and correspondence, administrative 
officers can be given the results of the best modern developments, 
and suggestions which will lead to economy of tim,e and effort and 
the organization of more effective administrative machinery. 

The suggestions with reference to the staff in rural education 
are justified both by the importance of rural education in Oklahoma 
and by the demands of the proposed program. There should be a 
supervisor of elementary education, as well as a supervisor of sec- 
ondary education, in order to insure continuous study of these 
special problems, and to provide authoritative sources of i"nspira- 
tion and guidance in these important phases of education. 

A strong division of vocational education should be organized 
by providing for a State director of vocational education, with a 
staff consisting of supervisors of agricultural education, trades and 
industries, manual arts, and home economics, respectively. 

The director of educational research should undertake the re- 
organization of the educational statistics of the department, includ- 
ing data on school costs,' revenues, enrollment, attendance, and the 
like. As rapidly as the necessary assistants can be provided, this 



ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION 127 

division should also include a study of educational legislation, and 
should prepare to assume State leadership in the field of educational 
and psychological tests and measurements. The director of educa- 
tional research should be responsible for coordinating the work of 
the director of physical education and the specialist in school build- 
ings and grounds with the Avork of his own division. 

The director of physical education should have charge of all 
activities relating to the promotion of physical education, school 
hygiene and sanitation, and health education. 

The specialist in school buildings and grounds should have had 
successful experience in designing and planning school buildings, 
and should have thorough knowledge of construction and of the 
various kinds of school equipment. The division should prepare 
and distribute plans of buildings and grounds for the use of local 
school boards, on request, and should be prepared to offer sugges- 
tions concerning equipment and maintenance. 

The importance of the problem of education for negroes in 
Oklahoma should be recognized by the appointment of a director 
who by reason of his special training, experience, and qualifications 
for this work Mall command the confidence and support of the people 
of both races. The white people of Oklahoma have, in fact, at least 
as much at stake as the negroes in any decision as to what educa- 
tional opportunities shall be provided for the latter. 

In common with many other offices, the department of educa- 
tion is inadequately provided with clerical assistance. The additions 
suggested will increase the effectiveness of the work, and make 
possible more complete utilization of the expert knowledge and 
abilities represented by the staff. 



CllAPTIOR VI. 

HIGHER EDUCATION. 

1. GENERAL AND HISTORICAL. 

1. INTRODUCTION. 

This report on public higher education in Oklalioma deals 
specifically with the following thirteen institutions. 

1. University of Oklahoma, at Norman. 

2. Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College, at Still- 
water. 

3. Oklahoma College for Women, at Chickasha. 

4. East Central State Teachers' College, at Ada. 

5. Northwestern State Teachers' College, at Alva. 

6. Southeastern State Teachers' College, at Durant. 

7. Central State Teachers' College, at Edmond. 

8. Northeastern State Teachers' College, at Tahlequah. 

9. Southwestern State Teachers' College, at Weatherford. 

10. Colored Agricultural and Normal University, at Langston. 

11. Oklahoma School of Mines, at Wilburton. 

12. Miami School of Mines at Miami. 

13. Panhandle Agricultural and Mechanical College, at Good- 
well. 

All of the institutions were visited by one or more members of 
the group who made the study of higher education in the State. 
In addition to securing information through conferences and from 
printed material, statistical data were collected from the several 
institutions named. 

2. THE FUNCTIONS OF THE HIGHER INSTITUTIONS. 

Oklahoma has great natural resources in land, minerals, oil, 
coal and forests. Upon the proper development and economic dis- 
tribution of these resources and their products, depends the material 
wealth and the physical comforts of the citizens of this and other 
States in the Union. In order that there may be the least amount 
of waste in all things pertaining to the material resources of the 

128 



HIGHER EDUCATION 129 

State, it is essential that the greatest possible care and intelligence 
be used in their development and distribution. For this purpose 
the State has need of an increasing number of trained specialists 
and technicians. 

In a Democracy the people govern. They do so by the selection 
of officials and the power of public opinion. Each year the ques- 
tions which present themselves for solution in the realm of inter- 
national, national, State and local government seem more and more 
complex. To solve them intelligently it is imperative that an in- 
creasing amount of knoAvledge concerning economic, political and 
social problems be spread abroad among the citizens of Oklahoma 
and other States. There is no other assurance of the permanency of 
a democratic form of government. 

Finally, on a basis of material wealth and intelligent democratic 
government depends the possibility of culture and the refinements 
of life, which after all, should be the climax of the life of any 
individual. So far as is economically possible, and in accordance 
with the ability of every individual there should be developed a 
widespread appreciation of good literature, music, art, and ethics 
or religion which satisfy the deepest longings of the human soul 
and lift an individual out of the ordinary daily routine of living. 

In order that all these ends may be attained, it is essential that 
there shall be leaders. For the development of our natural resources, 
we need the engineer, the chemist, the scientific farmer, the trained 
forester, the oil geologist, and a hundred other experts. For the 
proper distribution and use of the products of the soil, the mine and 
the forest, we need the services of trained economists, administra- 
tors, doctors, and dieticians. In order that we may have intelligent 
and effective popular government there should be a host of trained 
men and women, including lawyers and judges who can analyze 
public problems and lead public opinion in their solution. And, 
finally, there are needed thousands of trained teachers in our elemen- 
tary and secondary schools who are capable of offering to the boys 
and girls of the State that cultural, preparatory, or vocational 
education which will enable them to take their places in modern 
society most effectively. 

For all these purposes, the State of Oklahoma has established 
and is maintaining its institutions of higher learning. The obliga- 
tions which these institutions have to the State are as broad and as 
deep as there is need in the State for trained leaders of more than 
s. s. 5 



130 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

secondary school education. The degree to which the higher insti- 
tutions fulfill these obligations will, in large part, determine the 
material prosperity, the quality of government and the spread of 
culture among the citizens of Oklahoma. 

The obligation on the part of the State to develop higher edu- 
cation should under no circumstances be considered as a dead 
expense. The more a State actually invests in higher education the 
more certain it can be of the physical comfort of its citizens, the 
stability of its government and the spread of culture. Education, 
therefore, in all its forms should be regarded as the best investment 
the people of the State can ntake either from an individual or a 
State point of view. 

3. EVOLUTION OF PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION. 

Public higher education in Oklahoma had its official beginning 
in 1890 in Avhich year the first legislature of the Territory of Okla- 
homa established three institutions, the University of Oklahoma, 
the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College, and Agricul- 
tural Experiment Station, and the State Normal School at Edmond. 
The next move was made in 1897 when a State normal school was 
established at Alva, and the Colored Agricultural and Normal 
University was provided for. This was followed in 1901 by setting 
up another State Normal school at Weatherford. Thus when state- 
hood was attained in 1907, Oklahoma had six public institutions of 
higher learning. 

The enabling act gave support to and strengthened these in- 
stitutions by granting section 13 in each township of certain Indian 
reservations and of all other lands opened for settlement in the 
Territory of Oklahoma "for the use and benefit of the University 
of Oklahoma and the University Preparatory School, one-third; of 
the normal schools now established or hereafter to be established, 
one-third; and of the Agricultural and Mechanical College and the 
Colored Agricultural and Normal University, one-third. ' ' A second 
grant which pertained directly to higher education was included in 
the enabling act as follows : 

For the benefit of the State university : 250,000 acres 

University preparatory school 150,000 acres 

Agricultural and mechanical college 250,000 acres 

Colored agricultural and normal university 100,000 acres 

State normal schools 300,000 acres. 



HIGHER EDUCATION 131 

Moneys derived from these sources constitute the "new college 
fund." 

The first addition to public higher education following state- 
hood was made by the first State legislature which in 1908 pro- 
vided for the establishment of the Industrial Institute and College 
for Girls ' ' to give instruction in industrial arts, the English language 
and the various branches of mathematical, physical, natural and 
economical sciences, with special reference to their application in 
the industries of life."l The same legislature provided for the 

1. The institution was conditionally located at Chickasha by an act approved 
March 27, 1909. In 1916 its name was changed to the Oklalioma College for 
Women. 

creation of a State School of Mines and Metallurgy at Wilburton, 
"to teach such branches in mining and metallurgy as will give 
a thorough technical knowledge of mines and mining and all subjects 
pertaining thereto. ' ' 2 

2. In 1919 the institution was ordered "to include and accentuate in its 
curriculum vocational instruction below college grade in vocations relating 
to mining industries." The school was closed from 1917 to 1919. 

Regular courses extending over four years and leading to 
degrees were to be provided. By these enactments the eastern 
part of the State, formerly Indian Territory, and the western part 
of the State, formerly Oklahoma Territory, each were granted a 
State institution. 

Further facilities for higher education were provided by the 
second State legislature in 1909 through the establishment of three 
State normal schools in the section which had previously been Indian 
Territory. The schools were located at Ada, Durant, and Tahle- 
quah. The eastern part of the State then had three State teacher 
training institutions just as had the western section. 

No more schools of higher learning were established following 
1909 until 1919 in which latter year the legislature provided for 
the Miami School of Mines, and expressed its purpose as follows: 

"The Miami School of Mines created by this act shall be a 
school where the science of mining and the study of metals shall 
be taught; and the courses of study to be prescribed for the stud- 
ents of the school shall, at all times, be selected with the view of 
the further development of the mining industries of the State of 
Oklahoma, and said school shall be essentially a vocational school 
for the preparation of those wishing to engage in the various phases 
of the mining business in the State of Oklahoma. ' ' 



132 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

Thus was created a second State school of mines in a State which 
did not need even one as later events have clearly sho\vn. Evident- 
ly this action was not preceded by a careful investigation of the con- 
ditions prevailing in the mining industry. 

A further step was taken by the State in 1921. By earlier 
acts five district agricultural schools had been established. One 
of these, located at Goodwell, was in 1921 authorized to add two 
years of college work to its secondary course, which college work 
was to include "courses in agriculture, mechanical arts, home 
economics, education, and other auxiliary subjects." 

Some Imowledge of the development may be gained from the 
statistical tables appended to this report. The 13 institutions 
named are manned by over 500 faculty members who give instruction 
to almost 15,000 students, besides carrying on research work of 
various forms, and extension work in agriculture and home econom- 
ies which covers the entire State. All of this service involves 
an annual expenditure of approximately $3,500,000. It is truly 
a large undertaking. 

The progress of higher education in Oklahoma has been remark- 
able during the past fifteen years. The end is not yet. In the 
future provision must be made in an even more generous way if 
the demands for higher education are to* be met adequately. The 
citizens are awake to the desirability of such training. The second- 
ary schools have come into their own only within the past decade, and 
in all probability the extension of secondary education will continue 
at a rai)id rate for years to come, especially, if the recommendations 
pertaining thereto in another part of this report are adopted by 
the Stale. Such an extension will in turn increase the demand for 
liighcr education. 

One of the outstanding features of the growth of higher educa- 
tion in the State is that it has occurred without any definite plan 
on the part of the State. There are too many State institutions 
for present demands and some of them are unfortunately located. 
Evidence will be presented later which will show the lack of sound 
and clear objectives in the development noted as it relates to several 
institutions. The time is at hand when the State should take stock 
of its provision for higher education and adopt a clear policy for 
the future. By this means waste can be prevented and progress 
can be economically promoted. It is a task which will require 
sound judgment, clear vision, and a firm hand. 



HIGHER EDUCATION' 133 

II. STATE ADMINISTRATION AND CONTROL. 

1. ADMINISTRATION BOARDS. 

Evolution of State Administration. State Administration and 
control of public higher education in Oklahoma has passed through 
several phases. In a general way, the early administration was 
quite decentralized. The State University was in the care of a 
board of regents. The Agricultural and Mechanical College was 
cared for in a similar manner. In 1907, however, the State Board 
of Agriculture was by the Constitution made the board of regents 
of all agricultural and mechanical colleges, the purpose being to 
have a unified system of such institutions. The legislation to carry 
out this provision was enacted in 1908. 

When the State normal school at Edmond was created it was 
placed under a board of education, and later, as other normal 
schools were established, they were also put under the charge of 
the same board of education. The Colored Agricultural and Normal 
University, the Industrial Institute and College for Girls, and the 
State School of Mines and Metallurgy were, however, given sepa- 
rate board of regents. 

A board was created in 1909, known as the State Board of 
Public Affairs, which has a close relation to the administration of 
higher education. It consists of three members appointed by 
the governor, by and with the advice of the Senate, for a term 
coterminous with his own. This is a paid board. Its duties are 
to have charge of the construction, repair, maintenance, insurance, 
and operation, of all buildings under State control, to have the cus- 
tody of all State property except in certain cases, to keep accounts 
of property purchased for the State and its officials, and other duties 
of similar nature. In was also provided that this board should 
contract for, purchase, and acquire ''all furnishings, furniture, 
and supplies of every kind or description for the use of the State 
or its officers, or the support of the several State institutions." 
The board in the nature of the case was given important duties 
and a large task. 

In 1911 the State readically changed its method of administering 
its various educational institutions. At that time the following 
sixteen State boards were looking after various aspects of educa- 
tion : 

(1) State board of education. 

(2) State textbook commission. 



134 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

(3) Board of regents of the State University. 

(4) Board of regents of the university preparatory schools. 

(5) Board of education in control of the State normal 
schools. 

(6) Board of regents of the Oklahoma Industrial Institute and 
College for Girls. 

(7) Board of regents of the School of Mines and Metallurgy. 

(8) Board of control of the School for the Deaf. 

(9) Board of control of the School for the Blind. 

(10) Board of control of the Boys' Training School. 

(11) Board of control of the Orphans' Home. 

(12) Board of control of the Institution for the Feeble minded. 

(13) Board of regents of the Colored Agricultural and Normal 
University. 

(14) Board of regents of the Institute for the Deaf, Blind and 
Orphans' Home for the Colored. 

(15) State Board of Agriculture. 

(16) State Board of Public Affairs. 

It was truly a bewildering array of machinery to have in 
charge of the State affairs of education. In 1911 an attempt was 
made to bring order out of chaos by setting up a highly central- 
ized control through an act which created the State Board of 
Education to be the legal successor of the first fourteen boards 
named above. It was a stupendous task with which the new board 
was invested. 

An important act passed in 1917 authorized certain designated 
higher educational institutions to confer degrees and it empowered 
the State board of education to approve other institutions for de- 
gree-conferring purposes. The law was amended in 1919 by 
adding two institutions to the list in 1917. 

As the organization of the State administration above described 
continued in its work it proved more or less unsatisfactory. The 
reason is not far to seek. Too many heterogeneous interests and 
activities were thrown together, many of which had little or no 
relation to others. Consequently, an effort at decentralization 
was made which resulted in 1919 in the creation of a separate board 
of regents for each State institution of higher learning formerly 
under the central board, except for the six State normal schools 
which remained under the State Board of Education. The Miami 
School of Mines established in the same year was also given a sepa- 



HIGHER EDUCATION 135 

rate board of regents. 

It should be pointed out here that the experience of Oklahoma 
above recounted can hardly be said to discredit the idea of a cen- 
tral board of control for State higher education. It rather illus- 
trates the fact that a central board in charge of numerous activities 
not closely related is not likely to prove a success. 

The evolution has resulted in the following boards which have 
to do with higher education : 

(1) Board of Regents of the State University. 

(2) State Board of Agriculture which constitutes the Board 
of Regents of the Agricultural and Mechanical Colleges. 

(3) Board of Regents of the Oklahoma School of Mines and 
Metallurgy. 

(4) Board of Regents of the Miami School of Mines. 

(5) Board of Regents of the Oklahoma College for Women. 

(6) Board of Regents for the Colored Agricultural and Nor- 
mal University. 

(7) State Board of Education administering the six State 
teachers' colleges. 

(8) Board of Public Affairs administering the finances of all 
State institutions. 1 

1. There is also a Board of Public Lands which has charge of the school 
lands and of the funds derived therefrom. The State Board for Vocational 
Education deals with the State higher education institutions in so far as they 
perform services under the Federal Smith- Hughes Act. 

DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 

The situation as it now exists is by no means ideal. There are 
no clear principles of organization involved in the multuplicity of 
boards now in existence, nor have any such principles been evident 
in the shifting which has occurred. Local feelings and political 
exigencies seem to have been the determining factors underlying 
the changes. 

Much thought has been given to the method of State administra- 
tion now in vogue, in the belief that a clarification of this situation 
will care for many of the defects in the State provision for higher 
education. 

Certain principles of sound administration may be stated. 
First, The number of State boards should be reduced to the small- 
est number consistent Avith good administration ; Second, each board 
should be in charge of closely related activities only, if it is to look 
after its charges properly ; Third, Some means should be adopted to 



136 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

insure a plan of development, rather than to allow progress to 
occur in sporadic fashion. 

With these principles in mind, it is recommended that the work 
of higher education be put in charge of four board as follows : 

(1) Board of regents for the State University. 

(2) Board of regents for the agricultural and mechanical col- 
leges. 

(3) Board of regents for the State teachers' colleges. 

(4) Board of regents for the Oklahoma College for Women. 

The board of regents for the State University should have in 
charge the University and any State junior colleges of liberal arts 
which are in existence or which may -be established in the future. 
Under no circumstances should such junior colleges be established, 
except as they are approved by this board. 

The Miami School of Mines, if it is to be continued as a state 
school should be officially reorganized as a junior college of liberal 
arts. Of the 107 students enrolled 14 are of secondary grade and 
93 are of college standing. A study of the catalog makes it clear 
that the institution is no longer "essentially a vocational school for 
the preparation of those wishing to engage in the various phases 
of the mining business of the State of Oklahoma." In fact, the 
school at present is in reality a liberal arts junior college, which 
articulates closely with the University of Oklahoma. It gives 
only passing attention to mining. If the school is reorganized as 
a junior college it should be placed under the University board 
of regents. 

The board of regents of the agricultural and mechanical col- 
leges should have in charge the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechani- 
cal College and the Colored Agricultural and Normal University. 
The latter school is logically a part of the system of education in 
agriculture and the mechanic arts and it should be included in the 
administration of the system. 

The Oklahoma School of Mines and Metallurgy, at Wilburton, 
should be abandoned. When it Avas visited the school had 198 
students as follows : 

137 vocational rehabilitation men 
31 women in commercial courses. 
23 men in other subcollegiate courses 
7 men in college courses. 



HIGHER EDUCATION 137 

It is apparent that this school is doing comparatively little as 
a school of mines and metallurgy. The great variety of courses 
is no doubt an attempt to keep up the school by giving anything 
for which students can be obtained. The number of students in 
mining indicates very little demand for courses in that field, so little 
as scarcely if at all to justify the continuation of the school as a 
school of mines. To attempt a junior college at Wilburton would in 
the judgment of the committee be very unwise. 

The constitutional provision which makes the State board of 
agriculture serve as the board of regents of the agricultural and 
mechanical colleges should be repealed. There is a very decided 
tendency among the several States to separate the various forms 
of regulatory and police work from the service which is primarily 
educational as such separation makes for better services in both lines. 
The board in charge of the educational service should be entirely 
nonpolitical^ and it should have very little if any connection vdth 
those activities which tend to involve it in political turmoils. 

The board of agriculture is constituted of a president, who is 
elected on a partisan ballot, and of four other members, who are 
appointed by the Governor with the consent of the Senate. It is 
thus a political body, and is closely tied up with the political for- 
tunes of two men. This form of management is largely responsible 
for the unfortunate conditions at the Oklahoma Agricultural and 
Mechanical College. To place the college under an educational 
board will be in keeping with the best practice and will materially 
change the existing state of affairs in that institution. It is the 
deliberate judgment of the committee that until the method of 
State control of the college is changed the college will not be able 
to do its work in the most successful way. 

The six State teachers' colleges should be under one board of 
regents. At present they are under the State board of education, 
an arrangement which should by all means be changed. Here again 
the statement applies that the regulatory and inspectional work 
should be separated from that which is primarily educational. A 
State board of education should be responsible for the inspection of 
schools, the certification of teachers, etc. Its duties should not 
include the training of those who are to be certified by it as teachers. 
The principle is clear. Teachers are trained in the colleges and 
university as well as in the normal school. If the certifying board 
has some of the teacher training in charge, its points of view is likely 



138 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

to be that of the service rendered by its charges and its regulations 
are likely to be such as pertain to those institutions primarily. As 
a certifying agency the State board of education should have no 
official relations with any of the teacher training institutions. 

The board of regents of the Oklahoma College for Women 
should be in charge of the college named. The work of the college 
is as closely related to the Agricultural and Mechanical College as 
it is to the State University and it is therefore thought inadvisable 
to put it in charge of any of the boards which control those insti- 
tutions. The college renders a unique and special service, which 
can well be under separate management. There should be women 
members of the board. 

Under the existing law the State board of public affairs pur- 
chases supplies and equipment, erects buildings, at the various in- 
stitutions and has custody of the property. This board is appoint- 
ed each four years and it goes in and out with the governor, w^hich 
results in frequent changes in management. Furthermore, the 
board is an exceptionally busy one as it expends millions of dollars 
yearly. In a general way, it may be stated that the committee 
has met but little dissatisfaction with the board's conduct of busi- 
ness, the board having been awake to the fact that much educational 
equipment and many supplies are so specialized that the bid system 
of purchase does not apply to them. The difficulty of such pur- 
chasing has been overcome by the board's designating some per- 
son at the several "institutions to act for the board. It is a recog- 
nition of the fact that such purchasing can properly be left to local 
authorities. 

It is recommended that the boards governing the several in- 
stitutions be given authority by law to purchase equipment, books, 
and supplies, and the State Board of Public Affairs be made respon- 
sible for purchasing fuel, placing insurance, and erecting buildings, 
the latter function being performed with the advice of the respective 
boards of administration. Such an arrangement will make for 
economical and expeditious service. 

From the State point of view there remains to be considered 
some means or method of coordinating the work of the several in- 
stitutions of higher learning and of holding them to their proper 
functions. Various expedients have been adopted in several quart- 
ers to secure results. It is one of the underlying reasons which 
has frequently resulted in a central board of control. It does not 
seem advisable to recommend that a single central board of control 



HIGHER EDUCATION 139 

should at present be adopted by the State of Oklahoma, and accord- 
ingly the setting up of four boards is suggested. To secure some 
form of coordination, representatives of the four boards should hold 
an annual or semi-aimual meeting to discuss and determine matters 
which affect more than one of the groups of institutions. 

2. ORGANIZATION OF STATE BOARDS. 

The evidence Avhich has been submitted to the committee makes 
it clear that the State has been unfortunate in the organization of 
its State boards which have had to do with higher education. In- 
formation is not lacking to the effect that political motives have 
had a prominent part in the State institutions of higher learning. 
The frequent changing of presidents of the several institutions, 
with the exception of only a few institutions, seems to indicate 
clearly that motives other than professional have all too frequently 
been present. 

Such constant changing is extremely unfortunate. It cannot 
strongly foster an interest in the progress of the various institu- 
tions and it tends to put a premium on a short sighted policy. It 
fails to attract the ablest men for there is little interest in a posi- 
tion which offers too little security to make the investment of one's 
energies worth while. Undoubtedly the organization of the State 
boards is the crux of the difficulty and is responsible for much 
of the shifting. The time has come when the citizens of Oklahoma 
should seriously consider whether they will continue the methods too 
long in vogue or whether they will place all of higher education on 
a stable basis which will make for a greater service. To allow 
anyone to use State institutions of higher learning for any private 
purposes should under no circumstances be tolerated. It is an 
expensive matter and no State which is bent on the best for its 
citizens can afford tampering with the education of its youth. 

The remedy is clear. On the one hand there must be a develop- 
ment of public opinion which is greatly interested in the best possible 
provision for higher education and which jealously guards against 
the prostitution of such provision for personal or political advan- 
tage. No substitute can take its place. On the other hand, the 
State should set up such machinery of administration and control 
that it will be extremely difficult for any individual or group of 
individuals to use these institutions for private purposes. 

Long experience has proved that the board of seven or nine 
:members chosen for long terms with alternating appointments makes 



l40 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

for the most satisfactory service. The boards, therefore, should 
consist of seven or nine members, appointed by the governor with the 
consent of the Senate, with terms of office of seven or nine years, 
so arranged that not more than three appointments are made in 
a biennium on a nine member board, and not more than two on a 
seven member board. Members should receive no pay other than 
expenses. Public spirited men of intelligence and standing are 
usually willing to serve on such boards because the positions are 
honored and respected. 

There should be no ex-officio members on the boards. Such 
members have their time too much occupied with other official 
duties to give full consideration to the work of their respective 
boards. Then, too, ex-officio membership on boards tends to in- 
sert an element of politics which is to be avoided. 

3. INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION 

The performance of the administrative function in a college or 
university is a matter of much importance. It is the business of 
the administrative organization to keep the institution running 
smoothly and to make possible and most effective the real business 
of the institution, which is the expansion and the propagation of 
knowledge. 

THE PRESIDENCY. 

At the head of the administration of each institution stands 
the president, the direct agent of the board of control. Upon 
him depends very largely the plan upon which the institution 
operates. It falls to him specifically to plan for the future. To 
a very marked degree the faculty is the result of his ability to 
find competent persons and to secure their service. He must be 
able to work well with others, to command their respect and confi- 
dence, and to inspire them in their activity. His is a position 
which can be filled acceptably only by a leader, one who is recog- 
nized as professionally well equipped, who has the highest personal 
qualities, and who can organize and direct others well. 

All of this means that only competent persons should be chosen 
for the position, and it is little short of a betrayal of high trust to 
permit such extraneous considerations as personal or political sup- 
port in any way to have consideration in the choice. A further 
consideration is that once able men are secured for high positions, 
they should be continued in service for long periods. 

Two important reasons may be assigned for this recommenda- 



HIGHER EDUCATION 



141 



tion: First, long tenure secures for the State a continuous policy 
without which unified and economical administration is impossible. 
Men who know they are to serve for short periods only are likely to 
plan for short periods, which is likely to result in impetuous devel- 
opment if any at all. Second, security of tenure is essential to 
obtaining the services of the kind of men which the State must 
have. 

With the exception of the university and the women's college, 
the educational institutions of Oklahoma have unquestionably suf- 
fered from having had too many inexperienced executives. When 
executives change an institution is likely to run on a laissez faire 
policy until the new incumbent secures a mastery of the situation. 
It affords a golden opportunity for the various departments with- 
in the institution to proceed in their own way. Undoubtedly some 
of the maladjustments at the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical 
College have occurred in this way. 

Then, too, changing executives produces periods of disturbance 
and uncertaitiity for the members of the faculty and greatly hinders 
them in their important duties. It is therefore clearly the solemn 
duty of those who are in authority over the State institutions 
of higher learning to see to it that changes in administrative head- 
ships occur only for clearly justifiable reasons and at infrequent 
intervals only. In no other way can the highest interests of the 
State be conserved. 

Table 15 presents a list of the presidents of the State institu- 
tions, together with the dates of their terms of office. 

TABLE 15— NAMES OF PRESIDETSTTS OF OKLAHOMA STATE INSTI- 
TUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING AND DATES OF SERVICE. 



INSTITUTION 



NAME OF PRESIDENT 



DATE OF SERVICE 



University of 
Oklahoma 
(Norman) 



David Ross Boyd 
Arthur Grant Evans 
Julian C. Monnet 

(Acting- President) 
Stratton Duluth Brooks 



1892—1908 
1908—1911 
1911—1912 



May 1, 1912- 



Oklahoma 
Agricultural 

and 
Mechanical 
College 
(Stillwater) 



R. J. Barker 

Major Henry E. Alvord 

Edmund E. Murdaugh 

George E. Merrow 

J. H. Connell 

A. C. Scott 

L. L. Lewis 

(Acting president) 
J. W. Cant well 
James Burnette Eskridge 



June 25, 1891— June 30, 1894 

July 1, 1894— January 2, 1895 

January 2, 1895— June 30, 1895 

July 1, 1895 —June 30, 1899 

July 1, 1899 —June 30, 1908 

July 1, 1908 —June 30, 1914 

July 1, 1914 —June 30, 1915 



July 1, 1915 
July 1, 1921 



—June 30, 1921 



142 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



INSTITUTION 



Oklahoma 
College for 
Women 

(Chickasha) 



NAME OF PRESIDENT 



DATE OF SERVICE 



H. B. Abernathy 
J. Alexander Moore 
J. B. Eskridge 
G. W. Austin 



1909—1911 
1911—1912 
1912—1914 
1914— 



East Central 
State Teachers 
College 
(Ada) 



Northwestern 
State Teachers' 
College 
(Alva) 



Charles W. Briles 
James /Marcus Gordon 
Adolph Linscheid 



Southeastern 

State Teachers 

College, 
(Durant) 



Central State 
Teachers 
College 
(Edmond) 



Northeastern 
'State Teachers 
College 
(Tahlequah) 



C. W. Conway 
W. L. Ross 
Grant B. Grumbine 
J. W. Graves 
A. S. Faulkner 
J. P. Battenberg 



M. E. Moore 
E. D. Murdaugh 
W. C. Canterbury 
A. S. Faulkner 
T. D. Brooks 
H. G. Bennett 



Richard Thatcher 
George W. Winans 
H. W. Williams 

E. D. Murdaugh 

F. H. Umholtz 
T. R. Butcher 
James A. McLauchlin 
Charles Evans 
Grant B. Grumbine 

J. W. Graves 
John G. Mitchell 



A. S. Wyley 
D. Frank Redd 
Frank B. Buck 
W. E. Gill 
G. W. Gable 
W. T. Ford 



Southwestern 
State Teachers 
College, 

(Weatherford) 



James R. Campbell 
John F. Sharp 
Ulysses J. Griffith 
James B. Eskridge 
Alfred H. Burris 



1909—1916 
1916 — 1920 
1920— 



Sept. 1906— Jan. 1908 

Jan. 1908— July 1910 

July 1910— Sept. 1916 

Sept. 1916— Sept. 1917 

Sept. 1917— June 1919 
June 1919 — 



July 1, 1910— Sept. 1, 1911 
Sept. 1, 1911— July 1, 1914 
July 1, 1914— Sept. 1, 1915 
Sept. 1, 1915— June 1, 1916 
June 1, 1916 — June 1, 1913 
June 1, 1919— 



1891 

1893 
1894 
1895- 
1901 
1906 
1908 
1911 
1916 
1917 
1919— 



1893 

1894 
1895 
1901 
1906 
1908 
1911 
1916 
1917 
1919 



April 19— July 1, 1909 
July, 1909— July, 1911 
July 1911— Nov. 1912 
Nov. 1912— Dec. 1913 
Dec. 1914 — Aug. 1919 
Aug. 1, 1919— 



1901—1908 

1908—1911 

June, 1911— June, 1915 

June, 1915— June, 1921 

June, 1921— 



Colored Agri- 
cultural and 
Normal 
University 
(Langston) 



Inman E. Page 
I. B. McCutcheon 
J. M. Marquess 



1898—1915 
1915—1916 
1916— 



HIGHER EDUCATION 



143 



INSTITUTION 



NAME OF PRESIDENT 



DATE OF SERVICE 



Oklahoma 
School of 
Mines 
(Wilburton") 



Dr. Geo. E. Ladd 
E. P. Barrett 
J. W. Graves 
Lynn Glover 
School closed 

(Governors veto) 
Mead S. Johnson 



December 1, 1908 — Oct. 14, 1912 
October 14, 1912 — June 30, 1913 
July 1, 1913 — June 30, 1915 
July 1, 1915— J-une 30, 1917 
July 1, 1917— June 30, 1919 

July 1, 1919?— 



Miami School 
of Mines 
(Miami) 



Lloyd B. Drake 
W. O. Cralle 



July 1. 1920— June 1, 1921 
June 1, 1921 — 



Panhandle 
Agricultural 
and Mechan- 
ical College 
(Goodwell) 



S. W. Black 
J. F. Sharp 
G. A. Coffey 
A. W. Fanning 



Fall 1909— Summer 1915 
Fall 1915— May 1919 
June 1919— July 1922 
August 1922 — 



In several institutions, notably in the Agriculutral and Mechani- 
cal College, there is a lack of adjustment which is unjustifiable. 
Thus, for example, in the latter college three groups are engaged 
in training teachers and in maintaining practice teaching and obser- 
vation which confuses the whole scheme of teacher training. The 
secondary vocational work is separate from the other secondary 
work given in the college. The extension organization under the 
Smith-Lever work in the same institution is not correlated with 
the departments of instruction. On the other hand, the experi- 
ment station at the same institution suffers because the members 
of the staff are called upon for so much teaching that the work of 
research lags. The small number of bulletins, about six a year, 
is evidence in point. 

Some clear principle of organization should be adopted in build- 
ing up an institution. It is better organization to have a depart- 
ment in a college or school serve other schools and colleges than to 
have each school or college develop its own department and thus 
duplicate similar work done elsewhere in the institution. One de- 
partment of education can serve all colleges in a large institution. 
To create a special department of agricultural education with its 
own practice teaching is to duplicate unwisely when there is a school 
of education whose primary purpose is the training of teachers. 

THE FACULTIES. 

In this brief report only a few of the problems of internal 
administration can be stated. One group of problems relates 
to the faculty. A study of salaries shows that the salaries of 
faculty members are far too Ioav to attract the kind of people 



144 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



who are needed for a high standard of work. 

At present the twelve month salary plan prevails in most of the 
institutions. This works a grave injustice to those who are required 
to teach against those for some reason or other have no students 
during the summer session. The separation of the regular salaries 
from those for the summer sessions would obviate the difficulty. 
Faculty members would find greater interest in summer school work, 
and directors of summer schools would have greater freedom of 
choice in their summer school faculties and courses. 

It is also apparent that many faculty members, often the high- 
est paid, are compelled to do much clerical work and office drudgery 
which could as well be cared for by clerical and stenographic as- 
sistance. Undoubtedly, this situation can be accounted for by lack 
of funds, but the cost would not be excessive and the resultant in- 

TABLE 16.— NUMBER OF FACULTY MEMBERS (NOT INCLUDING 

STUDENT ASSISTANTS) 



Location of 
Institutions 


1910-11 


1915-16 


1920-21 


1921-22 


1922-23 


Norman 

Stillwater 

Chickasha 

Wilburton 

Miami 

Ada 

Alva 

Durant 

Edmond 

Tahlequah 

Weatherford 

Langston 

Goodwell 


73 
39 

20 
6 

16 
29 
24 

22 

32 

18 

5 


103 

83 

24 

5 

23 

27 
18 

24 

20 

2'5 

9 


151 

117 

43 

14 

5 

24 

24 

24 

29 

22 

20 

24 

9 


154 
122 
43 
16 
8 
24 
26 
22 
30 
24 
21 
26 
15 


161 
125 
44 
16 
9 
25 
30 
22 
27 
21 
21 
26 
19 


Total 


284 


361 


506 


531 


546 



creased efficiency of service would more than offset the -added cost. 
Another factor in securing competent instructors is provision for 
leaves of absence and for a pension system. 

Table 16 shows the growth in number of members of the facul- 
ties at the State institutions, and Table 17 given the facts concern- 
ing academic training. 

UNCERTAINTY OF TENURE A SEVERE HANDICAP. 

Finally, in the institutions other than the university and the 
college for women there is much uncertainty of tenure of position, 
due partly to the annual election of faculty members. The numer- 
ous changes which occur each year and the fact that a large propor- 
tion of faculty members now serving have been serving a brief time 



HIGHER EDUCATION 



145 



TABLE 17.— ACADEMIC TRAINING OF THE FACULTIES.* 



Location of 
Institutions 




Number 


of Faculty Members 




Total 


Having the 

Doctor's 

degree 


Having a 

professional 

degree 


Having tlie 
Master's 
degree 

48 
30 
17 

6 

7 

5 

6 

9 

8 

4 

1 

1 


Having the 
Baccalaure- 
ate degree 

50 
47 
16 
11 
13 
13 
23 
10 
10 
10 

5 

6 

7 


Having 

no 
degree 


Norman 

Stillwater 

Chickasha 

Ada 

Alva 


148 
104 
43 
22 
23 
23 
33 
21 
24 
24 
16 
9 
12 


31 

10 
2 

1 


7 
3 




12 

14 

8 

5 

3 


Durant 

EJdmond 

Tahlequah 

Weatherford .... 
Langston 


5 
4 
2 
5 
10 


Wilburton 

Miami 

Goodwell 


2 
1 


8 
1 
5 


Total 


502 


44 


13 


142 


221 


82 



*Not including student assistants. 

only, (See Table 18), are evidence in point. It may be stated, 
however, that low salaries also account in part for the changes. 

The constant shifting results in a great loss of loyalty and in 
a lowered morale. The remedy lies in the adoption of rules govern- 
ing tenure. Such a business-like policy would eliminate one of the 
factors which militates against the growth of scholarly spirit. 
Professors and associate professors should hold their positions per- 
manently on merit and good behavior, while assistant professors 
might well be appointed for three year periods, and instructors for 
one year periods. If some such scheme were adopted the schools 
would be more likely to stay out of political matters and be less in- 
terested in the results of elections, and what is still more important 
it would be an inducement for attracting competent men to the 
institutions if they were assured of permanency of position. This 
point should be emphasized. Nothing does so much harm to 
State institutions of higher learning as a low morale among the 
faculties. 

Especially at the University and at the Agricultural and Me- 
chanical College the time has come for a larger recognition of the 
faculty in determined educational policy. Faculty members now 
have no regularly constituted method of expressing their views 
on such matters. The organization of a senate in each of those in- 
stitutions, composed of all faculty members who hold the rank of 
associate professor and above, is suggested as a legislative body 
so far as courses of study and student affairs are concerned. 



146 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



TABLE IS.— YEARS OF SERVICE AND SALARIES OF MEMBERS OF 

THE FACULTIES.* 







No. 


Average 


SALARIES 




r^oration O'f 


Ranks 


of 
Per- 


years of 
service at 








Institution 


Average 


Lowest 


High- 






sons 


institution 






est 




Deans & Dir. 


9 


li.lt 


4755.55 


4000 


6000 




Professors 


33 


9.57 


3854.54 


3200 


4200 


Norman 


Assoc. Prof. 


17 


5.7 


2835.29 


2800 


3000 




Asst. Prof. 


39 


3.58 


2393.84 


2200 


2800 




Instrustors 


38 


2.68 


1655.26 


1600 


1800 




Deans 


7 


2.85 


4057.14 


3300 


4500 




Professors 


29 


5.55 


3108.62 


2400 


3600 


ritillwater 


Assoc. Profs. 


14 


5.28 


2610.71 


2250 


3150 




Asst. Profs. 


25 


3.68 


2326.00 


1800 


3000 




Instructors 


28 


2.67 


1911.46 


1500 


2500 




Deans 


3 


4 


3334.16 


2702.50 


3300 




Prof esse /s 


15 


4.86 


2713.33 


2250 


3000 


Chickasha 


Assoc. Prof. 
Asst. Prof. 


1 

1 


1 
1 


2000 
1800 








Instructors 


21 


1.85. 


1742.85 


1600 


2200 




Professors 


13 


4.84 


2337.69 


1920 


2750 


Ada 


Asst. Prof. 
Instructors 


1 
7 


3 

4.42 


1920 
1868.57 


1800 


1920 




Professors 


14 


6.78 


2128.57 


1700 


2500 




Assoc. Prof. 


1 


20 


2100 






Alva 


Asst. Prof. 


1 


13 


1750 








Instructors 


5. 


5.6 


1630 


1600 


1700 




Professors 


9 


5.33 


2433.33 


2400 


2700 




Assoc. Prof. 


1 


13 


2100 






Durant 


Asst. Prof. 


3 


2 


2200 


1800 


2400 




Instructors 


6 


4 


1700 


1680 


1800 




Professors 


13 


8.23 


2500 


2000 


3000 


EJdmond 


Assoc. Prof. 
Asst. Prof. 


4 

4 


4.75 

5.75 


2075 
2025 


1800 
1800 


2400 
2400 




Instructoi^s 


7 


3.57 


1835.71 


1550 


2200 




Professors 


13 


2.84 


2115.38 


1800 


2400 


Tahlequah 


Asst. Prof. 
Instructors 


1 
4 


1 
1.75 


2000 
1800 


1800 


1800 




Professors 


12 


6.08 


2254.16 


1600 


3000 


■Vfeatherford 


Assoc. Prof. 
Asst. Prof. 


3 

1 


7 
3 


1826.33 
2000 


1680 


2000 




Instructors 


4 


6.75 


1560 


1200 


1680 


Langston 


Total 


23 


2.71 


1470.56 


1125 


2000 


Wilburton 


Total 


15 


1.33 


2225.33 


1200 


2800 




Total, 


7 


2.14 


1785.71 


1500 


2100 


Miami 


(excluding 
deans) 














Deans 


1 


3 


3000 






Goodwell 


Total 


10 


2.5 


1824 


1375 


2160 



HIGHER EDUCATION 147 



THE BUDGET. 



The internal budgets at the various institutions do not seem 
to be well developed. Departments frequently do not know how 
much they have to spend and consequently are hampered in plan- 
ning for equipment and other expenses. The institutional budget 
is a very important matter, especially in the larger institutions. 

The president of each institution should be required to pre- 
pare annually a budget which shows every source of income. On 
the expenditure side it should present the expenditures for every 
division and department of the institution, the amounts allowed 
for salaries, for equipment, supplies, incidentals, etc. The executive 
should watch with jealous eye the increasing cost of administration. 
At least once each month the business office should present to the 
president a complete statement showing receipts from all sources and 
the expenditures and balances for all departments. Each depart- 
ment should have a copy of its budget for the year at least two 
months in advance of the opening of the session. 

COORDINATION OF WORK. 

In a number of institutions there is a lack of coordination of 
functions. Thus the place of the training schools in the teachers' 
colleges seemingly is not always clear and understood. Not infre- 
quently secondary and college students are found in the same classes. 
In such schools as have secondary students these students should be 
under a separate organization and faculty, and the secondary school 
should be used freely for teacher training purposes. 

THE DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE RESEARCH. 

In large institutions some regularly organized means of statis- 
tical and analytical study of the work and progress of the institution 
has been found of great assistance in directing its affairs. Such 
a department of research makes possible a continuous survey. If 
well conducted it can render a most valuable assistance to the presi- 
dent in his responsible position as it makes it possible for him to do 
his work in the light of full and objective information. Such activ- 
ities as the administration of standard intelligence tests and ratings, 
cost studies, etc., can well come under a department of research. 

In view of the conditions existing at the Agricultural and Me- 
chanical College a more complete survey should be made of that 
institution. 



148 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

III. THE TRAINING OF TEACHERS. 

One of the most important functions of higher education in 
a State is to train teachers for the elementary and secondary schools. 
At present there are approximately 17,000 teachers in the State of 
which number 14,000 are employed in elementary grades and 3,000 
in secondary grades. 

I. PROVISION FOR TRAINING ELEMENTARY TEACHERS. 

The number of elementary teachers increases yearly by approxi- 
mately 500 due to increased enrollments in the elementary schools. 
It is estimated that at the same time 20 per cent of the teachers 
in service withdraw thus requiring 2,800 teachers annually to fill 
the vacancies created by the withdrawals. According to these 
estimtes at least 3,300 new teachers must be secured each year to 
maintain a full staff in the public elementary schools. 

For the training of elementary teachers two agencies have 
been established, of which the first was the State normal schools 
now known as the State teachers' colleges. The institutions which 
bear this designation, six in all, offer a two year course, upon the 
completion of which the student receives a diploma which is a 
State life certificate valid in all the public schools of the State. Dur- 
ing the year 1921-22 the State teachers' colleges graduated from 
their two year courses the following: 

1. Central 175 graduates 

2. East Central 123 graduates 

3. Southeastern 123 graduates 

4. Southwestern 114 graduates 

5. Northwestern 94 graduates 

6. Northeastern 79 graduates 

TOTAL 708 graduates. 

A second agency for training elementary teachers is the nor- 
mal training course in district agricultural schools and in fully ac- 
credited high schools under an act approved in 1915. The course 
constitutes a part of the four year course required for graduation 
from such schools. It is elective in the eleventh and twelfth grades. 
Upon completion of the course a student is granted a two-year State 



HIGHER EDUCATION 149 

certificate. At the close of the school year 1921-22, 68 high schools 
had been approved for the course. During the year 629 certificates 
were issued to graduates. 1. 

1. This number does not include those who graduated from similar courses 
of the State teachers' colleges. On these no data are at hand. 

In addition to the training agencies above mentioned some ele- 
mentary teachers come from the State university, the agricultural 
and mechanical college, the college for women, and some of the 
private institutions of higher learning. Undoubtedly a number 
also come from outside the State, the State being new and there 
being a considerable amount of immigration. It is doubtful, how- 
ever, whether the number from these sources is of great significance. 

2. PROVISION FOR TRAINING SECONDARY TEACHERS. 

Approximately 3,000 high school teachers are employed in 
Oklahoma. Careful estimates are to the effect that to replace those 
who leave the service and to provide for new positions which are 
established about 600 new high school teachers are required each 
year. 

It is also estimated that at the present time the State institu- 
tions which prepare high school teachers graduate annually be- 
tween 150 and 200 students with professional training including 
practice teaching in secondary subjects. The private higher edu- 
cational institutions supply a few such teachers and some are drawn 
from other States. The remaining number of new high school 
teachers are recruits who have some college work or who may be 
college graduates but who have no adequate professional training. 

The time has come for the State to provide and require better 
training for its teachers. It is clear from the discussion preeeeding 
that a large proportion of Oklahoma's teachers begin work with 
nothing that even approaches adequate modern training. It is a con- 
dition that will change very slowly unless the State takes steps to 
remedy it by setting higher standards. As long as the State permits 
those who are incompetent to preside in its school rooms it will have 
such incompetents. They are a menace to educational progress. 
Most of them are to be found in the rural schools which tend 
to become their places of refuge. To raise educational standards 
only properly trained teachers can be permitted in the school rooms 



. 150 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

of the State. When such requirements are set up the State will 
have to provide more and better facilities to train its teachers. 

3. TEACHER TRAINING CURRICULA. 

Teacher training classes in the high schools as now organized 
should be regarded as at best but a temporary expedient, and should 
now be abandoned. If it is deemed necessary to provide such 
local teacher training it should be organized as a post-graduate 
course of one year following high school graduation. This would 
insure more maturity of mind and more serious purpose on the part 
of the students who undertake the course. It would also tend to 
keep out of the course such as do not fully intend to use the train- 
ing in future service for the State. 

The training of teachers in the State teacher's colleges is in 
need of a clear objective. These institutions until 1920 gave only 
two year courses which were for training elementary teachers. In 
that year two years of college work were added to the curriculum 
and the institutions were empowered to grant the baccalaureate 
degree. This change seems to have been unfortunate. Insti- 
tutions which did not have adequate facilities to give a strong two 
year course were permitted to dissipate their energies by offering 
work which was clearly out of their province at the time. 

The courses offered at present by the State teachers ' colleges 
and leading to a life certificate are as follows : 

Rural teachers' course — two years. 

Primary teachers' course — two years. 

Intermediate grade teachers' course — two years. 

Home economies course — two years. 

•Manual training teachers' course — two years. 

Public school music course — two years. 

Drawing teachers' course — two years. 

Junior high school teachers' course — two years. 

College course for senior high school teachers — four years. 

Courses for special teachers and supervisors in high school — 
four years. 

a. Industrial arts. 

b. Domestic science. 

c. History. 

d. English. 

e. Biology. 

f. Physical sciences. 



HIGHER EDUCATION 15i 

g. Mathomatics. 

h. Economics. 

i. Foreign languages. 

j. Professional training. 

k. Agriculture. 

A student may secure a life certificate on the completion of 
two years of the college course for senior high school teachers pro- 
vided he has had fifteen semester hours of work in education. 
Precisely at this point it becomes evident that there is no real differ- 
entiation between training elementary teachers and training high 
school teachers. In fact the investigators were repeatedly inform- 
ed that it is the common procedure for students to receive the State 
life certificate at the close of two years and teach and later to 
come back to complete the work for the degree. 

The scheme is unfortunate for two reasons: First, students 
who have taken the first two years of the four year course as out- 
lined are not professionally trained for elementary school work; 
Second, students who take the two year diploma courses for elemen- 
tary teacher training, and later return for the third and fourth 
years, receive a four year course which in reality consists of two 
two year courses and not at all of a real four year college course. 

Another compelling reason against the preparation of high 
school teachers in the State teachers' colleges is the fact that the 
elementary field is thereby neglected. Other institutions in the 
State prepare high school teachers but no other train elementary 
teachers except the high schools. 

TRAINING SCHOOL FACILITIES INADEQUATE. 

One of the weakest features of the teacher training work at the 
teachers' colleges is the use made of the training school. These 
are made up only of the elementary grades and are limited to 120 
children, and there are only three or four critic teachers. Little 
or no practice teaching in secondary grades is possible for those 
who are preparing to teach in high schools and that in spite of the 
fact that all of the teachers' colleges have large numbers of sec- 
ondary student enrolled. (See Table 19). In most of the col- 
leges there seems to be no close correlation between the theory 
of education and the practice teaching. 



152 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 





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HIGHER EDUCATION 15*, 

The training of high school teachers as carried on in the 
State university, the agricultural and mechanical college, and the 
college for women, is also seriously handicapped because of in- 
adequate training schools. On the side of the theory and subject 
matter courses, these latter institutions are, however, far superior 
to the State teachers' colleges in the training of high school teach- 
ers. 

FUNCTION OF STATE TEACHERS COLLEGES SHOULD BE 

DEFINED. 

In view of the present situation in Oklahoma the principal 
function of the State teachers' colleges should be the training of 
elementary teachers. At the earliest possible time adequate facili- 
ties in faculty, training schools, equipment and buildings, should 
be provided at the teachers' colleges for this service. Each col- 
lege should be provided at once with a commodious building espec- 
ially designed for training school purposes and adequate to house 
400 to 500 children in eight or nine grades. 

Each training school should ultimately have a staff of ten 
critic teachers all of whom are especially trained for their work and 
experienced in teaching. Each training school should next year 
provide one critic teacher for every 10 students who do practice 
teaching, and the training school should enroll four pupils for each 
student who takes practice teaching. This standard is generally 
accepted as the minimum for a first class teachers' college which 
requires 180 hours of practice teaching from, each student who 
graduates. If, as an extreme measure, the amount of practice 
teaching should be reduced to 90 hours twice as many student teach- 
ers could be provided for. In no case at present are the train- 
ing facilities up to this minimum standard. 

The training school must receive much greater attention if 
the prospective teachers are to be properly trained. Adequate 
practice teaching is fundamental to any good teacher training, as 
fundamental as is laboratory work in science or clinical work in 
medicine. There can be no substitute for it and none should be 
offered. 

In order to guarantee a sufficient training school at each teach- 
ers' college, the school districts in which such colleges are located 
should be by law put in a special class and governed by such laws 
as may apply to that particular class of districts. The schools in 
such districts should be under the control and management of the 



154 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

teacher training department of the teachers' college located in the 
district, and the districts should by law be required to contribute 
annually a certain specified amount of money toward the educa- 
tion of their children. 

With the development of the program recommended elsewhere 
for State aid to high schools, the secondary grades at the State 
teachers' colleges should be discontinued, one year at a time. The 
need for such training is no longer apparent. Under the high 
school transfer law it is possible for children to receive a high school 
training in a good high school even though there are no such schools 
in their own immediate localities. Under the law the several 
localities must pay for the education of the children, while if second- 
ary education is provided in State institutions those localities find 
it possible to throw their responsibility upon the State, as the high 
school transfer law does not apply to children of secondary grade 
in the State teachers' colleges. 

The secondary work is no longer an essential part of teacher 
training. If the earlier recommendation, pertaining to the normal 
training courses in high schools, be carried out, there is no justifi- 
cation whatever for continuing the high school work at the State 
teachers' colleges. 

The State should depend on the university, the agricultural and 
mechanical college, the college for women, and the privately con- 
trolled colleges for its supply of secondary school teachers. Ade- 
quate provision should be made at the State institutions in faculty, 
training schools, and equipment, to supply 600 secondary school 
teachers during the year 1923-24, and this should be increased an- 
nually according to the demand. 

Where secondary teachers are trained there should be a train- 
ing school of high school students fully available for practice teach- 
ing and enrolling a sufficient number of pupils so that there are 
at least four pupils for every student doing practice teaching. 
In no case should there be more than 12 student teachers to one 
critic teacher. The practice teaching should be an essential part 
of the teacher training curriculum and it should be closely cor- 
related with the theory courses. 

At the present time the University, the Agricultural and Me- 
chanical College, and the Women's College are fairly well equipped 
to prepare high school teachers, but in every case the training 
school should be greatly enlarged, and developed as a more typical 



HIGHER EDUCATION 155 

high school for practice teaching and less as a preparatory school. 
At the University a building should be erected for the training 
school. At the Agricultural and Mechanical College all of the 
secondary work in the institution should be brought together and 
organized under one head, and it should be used for training pur- 
poses. At the college for women provision for a training school 
is somewhat difficult owing to the fact that the college is too far 
from town. It may consequently be necessary to maintain a girls' 
academy as a training school. In such case its purposes should be 
clearly stated, and the numbers accepted should be limited to the 
needs of the training school. 

4. TRAINING SECONDARY TEACHERS AT THE STATE 

TEACHERS' COLLEGES. 

For various reasons, stated above, it is recommended that the 
preparation of high school teachers be discontinued at the State 
teachers' colleges. The alternative to such discontinuance of the 
work is to bring it up to standard and so to organize it that it will 
not detract from the preparation of elementary teachers. 

It seems quite clear that when the two types of training are 
offered in the same institution, separate and distinct curricula 
should be organized for the two types of work, that these curricula 
should be under separate staffs which are separately organized, 
and that distinct forms of scientific equipment should be provided 
for the two purposes intended. 

Such of the teachers' colleges as are to continue the courses 
for secondary teacher preparation should have staffs of at least eight 
well trained faculty members charged with the responsibility of 
offering standard courses covering four yeg,rs of work in the var- 
ious subjects of the curricula, and organized separately under 
a dean Avho is responsible for the students in this section. All 
of the staff should have done graduate work in a recognized grad- 
uate school, an amount equal to that required for the master's degree, 
and a number should hold doctors' degrees. 

Transfer of students from one type of course to the other, 
that is, from elementary to secondary or vice versa, should be pos- 
sibe only by doing all of the work in the course to which the trans- 
fer is made. Fully adequate equipment in chemistry, physics, 
zoology, and botany should be provided for the four year courses. 

Under the above alternative for the State teachers' colleges, 
a training school should be provided for each college enrolling from 



156 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

100 to 125 pupils of high school age (14 to 19 years). This should 
be separately organized under a principal and it should have its 
distinct staff of critic teachers. All high school students in the 
teachers' colleges above those needed for training purposes should 
be eliminated. 

The best judgment available does not approve offering the 
four year courses at the teachers' colleges at present, but, in any 
event such courses should not be offered with inadequate faculties, 
to the serious disadvantage of all students. It certainly is clear 
that the first responsibility of those institutions is to train teachers 
for the elementary schools of the State, No task is more import- 
ant or dignified, and none carries with it a greater responsibility. 
Very few if any of the schools now meet this need fully. It is the 
great neglected field and it promises to continue thus if the teachers' 
colleges shirk their plain duty. If any of the teachers' colleges 
reach the point where they are fully staffed and equipped credit- 
ably to train all those who apply for the training of elementary 
teachers, and can in addition provide a separate staff and sufficient 
equipment to train secondary school teachers, such service will be 
welcome and heartily approved. 

5. TRAINING SPECIAL TEACHERS. 
The preparation of special teachers deserves some attention. 
While there should be instruction in music and industrial arts 
for grade teachers at the teachers' colleges, and while it is desirable 
that home economics be taught as an elective in those institutions, 
it seems of doubtful wisdom to offer courses to prepare special 
teachers in those subjects. With strong departments in music and 
home economics at the university, the agricultural and mechanical 
college, and the women's college, and a strong course in industrial 
arts at the agricultural and mechanical college, these institutions 
should be able to prepare a sufficient number of special teachers 
of the subjects named. If it is found necessary to train one or more 
of these types of special teachers at the teachers' colleges one 
such college should be selected, properly equipped, and provided 
with an adequate staff to carry the work. In such case the Central 
State Teachers' College might well continue its work in manual 
training, which it is doing quite creditably at present. 



HIGHER EDUCATION 157 

IV. THE EDUCATION OP WOMEN. 
1. INTRODUCTION. 

In numerous ways Oklahoma has recognized her higher edu- 
cation obligations to the women of the State. From the early 
territorial days the university and the Agricultural and Mechani- 
cal College and the State normal schools have been coeducational. 
In keeping with educational customs in some States a separate in- 
stitution for women was also established. Thus today a woman 
in Oklahoma may choose to pursue her higher education in any 
one of the higher institutions of learning and she may pursue any 
course or curriculum. 

Confusion of thought in regard to the education of women has 
long existed. Frequently certain fallacious premises have been 
assumed, one of which is that the careers of educated men and of 
educated women are identical, and another of which is that differ- 
entiation of curricula for women implies an intellectual difference 
or an intellectual inferiority. Both of these assumptions are 
untenable. 

A more satisfactory solution of the problems of education for 
women can be evolved if certain facts are recognized, some of 
which are as follows: The majority of educated women teach for 
a few years; a few women enter and successfully practice the 
professions of law and medicine ; many women enter some phase of 
business although but few remain permanently therein; increased 
opportunities are being opened to women in the lines of business and 
the professions which have evolved from the household activities 
of previous generations; almost all women become household ad- 
ministrators. 

Furthermore, women's new civic interests and responsibilities 
occasion new educational demands. 

Upon such a basis of fact the conclusion is justified that while 
the education provided for women should be as thorough and as 
broad as that for men, educational authorities should take cog- 
nizance of the fact that differentation based on the probable later 
use of the training is essential if the highest service is to be rendered 
to the State. 

2. DEANS OF WOMEN. 

With the acceptance of women students in educational insti- 
tutions certain special obligations are assumed. The physical and 
social welfare of women is of vital cojicern to the State. Evil 
as it is for men to be badly housed and badly fed and undirected 
in their social life, to the State it is far more perilous that its 



158 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

young womanhood should be endangered. Elsewhere in this report 
attention is given to the physical care of students, but it may be 
emphasized that unless an education institution can go further 
than merely to provide intellectual guidance for its women students 
it had best withdraw from the field of education for women. 

A dean or director of women should be placed in each educa- 
tional institution, and she should have such assistance and cooper- 
ation from other members of the faculty as will enable her to as- 
sure to all women satisfactory social conditions. Such a dean 
should have high qualifications and should be adequately compen- 
sated. In the State teachers' colleges a dean of women may well 
do a small amount of teaching but due consideration should be given 
to her administrative duties. At the time of this survey the type 
of organization for the physical and social welfare of the young 
women of Chickasha was excellent and it afforded an opportunity 
for a number of members of the teaching staff to make a contribution 
to those phases of the students' life. 

The following statement is made concerning the university : 
"The office of dean of women was created in the university 
in 1908; was changed to advisor of women in 1912; was dropped 
in 1915; and was reestablished in 1918. The function of the dean 
of women is to act as counselor and advisor for women students, 
and to promote the interests of such students in the university." 

With 1100 women at the university, and with no State-owned 
housing facilities, the problems to be handled by the dean of women 
are many and various. Investigations seems to indicate that 
some members of the university staff do not appreciate the ques- 
tions involved, and that some still hold the old vicAvpoint that a 
faculty committee with ' disciplinary powers is adequate to care for 
the situation. 

In so large an institution as the university there should be not 
only a dean of women but assistants to care for the interests of 
the students. Such an office entails oversight of all housing con- 
ditions for women students, guidance and chaperonage for all 
social activities, authority in scheduling students' courses in so far 
as this injuriously affects the health of women students, provision 
for vocational advice, and the formation of many relationships 
with faculty families and local women which benefit the women 
students. What has been said of the function of a dean of women 
at the State university may likewise be said of a dean of women at 
the Agricultural and Mechanical College. 



HIOHER EDUCATION 159 

3. HOME ECONOMICS EDUCATION. 

Home economics instruction is only one factor in the liberal 
education of women but it is a very important one inasmuch as 
home economics and the basic physical, biological, and social 
sciences upon which it rests compose the group of subjects which 
afford excellent preparation for intelligent participation in civic 
and community affairs. This group of subjects likewise prepares 
directly for the intelligent discharge of the responsibilities incident 
to marriage. Thus far the home economics curricula in the State 
higher educational institutions have been formulated principally 
to prepare teachers. 

HOME ECONOMICS AT THE UNIVERSITY. 

Of the 1100 women students at the university, only 130 are 
taking home economics courses. Of the 13 candidates for degrees 
in home economics, eight are taking a curriculum distinctly and 
narrowly planned to prepare teachers of vocational home econom- 
ics. This is a regrettable condition, since all university women 
should find in the home economies department instruction of vital 
importance to them. 

The objectives of home economics instruction in the university 
should be three : First, it should make a definite contribution to 
the general and cultural education of a maximum number of women 
students in the institution. To this end special courses differen- 
tiated from those in the regular home economics curriculum should 
be offered. Second, there should be a home economics curriculum 
for the preparation of high school teachers. Such a curriculum 
should not over-emphasize the technical work to the exclusion of 
general cultural studies. Third, special curricula should be out- 
lined for the training of dietifions for hospital, institutional, com- 
mercial, and public school positions. The university is in a stragetie 
position for the emphasis of this training owing to its medical school 
and the nurse training course. 

Three additional recommendations may be made : First, the 
university home economics curricula should be based on at least one 
full year of high school home economics. Second, the curriculum 
leading to the bachelor's degree in home economics should be 
broadened. Third, no home economics of great value can be given 
at the university until rooms, equipment, and teaching staff are pro- 
vided. A cafeteria is an essential unit of a good department. 



16(J PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

HOME ECONOMICS AT THE AGRICULTURAL AND ME- 
CHANICAL COLLEGE. 

A large majority of the young women students in the college 
are taking some courses in home economics as follows: 
302 women are working for degrees in home economics. 
25 Avomen are entered as special students in home economics. 
125 women from the other schools of the college are electing 

courses in home economics. 
16 women are in secondary courses in home economics. 
30 women are taking vocational home economics curricula. 
Thus, of the 618 girls registered in the college, 498 are receiv- 
ing instruction in home economics. 

There are several major functions of home economics in the 
college : Fil'st^ careful attention must be given to prepare teachers 
of high school home economics. Second, there should be curricula 
to prepare county home demonstration agents of which there are 
46 in the State. Third, electives not a part of the home economics 
curricula must be available for women students not majoring in 
home economics. All of these important functions should be fully 
recognized in home economics instruction. 

The college cafeteria should be under the direction of the 
home economics department. Such control would result in food 
of good quality ; costs would be kept down ; and the home econom- 
ics students would be provided with a most necessary laboratory 
for experience in quantity food preparation. 

The practice house at an agricultural and mechanical college 
should be a model rural residence with sufficient ground and suit- 
able surroundings to make of it an interesting homestead. The 
present practice house is a mere shack and unsuitable for the use 
to which it is now assigned. 

Finally, the present organization of home economics is faulty. 
All resident teaching, all correspondence courses, and all extension 
teaching should be under one single division. To maintain several 
departments dealing with the same subject matter is unwise. 

HOME ECONOMICS AT THE OKLAHOMA WOMEN'S COLLEGE. 
At the college at Chickasha one year of home economics is re- 
quired of every student. This is a recognition of the essential 
differentiation in women's education not elsewhere accorded in the 
State of Oklahoma. Such a requirement — if the courses thus re- 



HIGHER EDUCATION 161 

quired are of the proper type — ensures a fundamental knowledge 
of household administration to every girl, and in addition aids in 
preparing a large number of teachers who will be able to teach 
some home economics in connection with other subjects when em- 
ployed in the smaller high schools of the State. 

The educational atmosphere at the Women's College at Chick- 
asha is conducive to the maintenance of excellent instruction in 
home economics, but the material surroundings both for this sub- 
ject and the basic sciences are far from being satisfactory. A 
special building for science teaching and home economics education 
is greatly needed. 

HOME ECONOMICS IN THE STATE TEACHERS' COLLEGES. 
Home economies in the teachers' colleges should serve two defin- 
ite purposes, the primary of which is to furnish such information and 
skill as will prepare the teacher in an undepartmentalized school 
to fulfill the legal requirement that home economics be taught to 
the seventh and eighth grade girls in the State. Since the hot 
lunch is one of the best means of introducing home economics in 
the undepartmentalized school, each teachers' college should be 
equipped to serve school lunches under the direction of the home 
economics department. 

These institutions at present are almost entirely neglecting the 
service due the undepartmentalized school and are giving all their 
energy to maintaining four year courses for the preparation of 
high school teachers, a task for which they are unprepared. The 
preparation of high school teachers necessitates strong departments 
of physical, biological, and social science if the curricula are to 
be com,prehensive and adequate. 

A secondary purpose of home economics in teachers' colleges is 
to give such elective instruction as will assist the teacher to secure 
for herself the maximum physical health and well-being during her 
years of service. 

Stress has been laid in the preceding pages upon home econom- 
ics education not because it is the chief topic of importance in the 
education of women but because it is the one distinctive phase of 
educaton not open to both men and women, and also because it is 
a subject in which the State requires so many specially prepared 
teachers, home demonstration agents, and women qualified for 

commercial positions, 
s. s. 6 



162 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

•V. SPECIAL PHASES OF HIGHER EDUCATION 

The following paragraphs deal with several functions and 
phases of higher education to which it is desired to give some 
special attention. 

1. ENGINEERING. 

Work in engineering is noAv offered in three State institutions, 
not including the Miami School of Mines which offers the first two 
years of four year curricula in mining engineering, civil engineer- 
ing and engineering geology. In 1904 the university organized a 
school of applied science and the school of mines, which was in. 
1909 reorganized as the college of engineering. Instruction in 
engineering at the Agricultural and Mechanical College began 
early with work in mechanical engineering, in which the first class 
was graduated in 1902. By later additions and reorganizations 
there has been developed a college of engineering. Instruction in 
engineering is also offered at the Oklahoma School of Mines at 
Wilburton. The following curricula are given : 

At the University : 

Metallurgical chemistry 4 years 

Sanitary Chemistry 4 yeras 

Petroleum technology 4 years 

Civil engineering 4 years 

Electrical engineering 4 years 

Mechanical engineering 4 years 

Engineering geology 4 years 

Mining geology 4 years 

Manual training 2 years 

At the Agricultural and Mechanical College : 

Chemical engineering 4 years 

Civil engineering 4 years 

Electrical engineering 4 years 

Mechanical engineering 4 years 

Administrative engineering 4 years 

Architectural engineering 4 years 

Architecture 4 years 

Architecture .2 years 

At the Oklahoma School of Mines. * 

Mining engineering 4 years 

Highway engineering 2 years 

Architectural drawing 2 years 



HIGHER EDUCATION 163 

Mechanical drafting 2 years 

Machine shop 2 years 

Practical electricity _ 2 years 

* These curricula are not of full college grade with 
the possible exception of the curriculum in mining 
engineering. 

The recommendations which pertain to engineering are four: 
First, the recommendation regarding the schools of mines has al- 
ready been given (See page 136). In keeping with the rec- 
ommendation, it is recommended further that, providing there is 
a sufficient demand, courses in mining engineering be offered at 
the University, thus placing the courses on a professional basis. 

It might be argued that the mining schools are nearer the 
mining fields and that consequently they can serve both the in- 
dustries and the students better. It must be urged, however, 
that their comparatively inaccessible locations more than offset 
any advantage that might be had from their proximity to the 
industries. To transfer the work to the University will insure a 
high grade of work. 

Second, the curricula in chemical engineering at the agricultur- 
al and mechanical college and at the State University are a need- 
less duplication, as the demand for chemical engineers is not large 
enough for the State to support two such courses of instruction. 
It is recommended that chemical engineering be given only at the 
university. The university has excellent equipment in chemistry. 
It offers strong work in petroleum technology which is an im- 
portant branch of chemical engineering. This one institution can 
train all the chemical engineers for which there is demand in the 
State. 

Third, the engineering equipment at the University is woefully 
inadequate, and far below the standard of a first class engineering 
school. More apparatus, machinery, and housing are needed. 
Steps should be taken as soon as possible to bring the facilities for 
engineering instruction at the University up to standard. 

Fourth, one of the important developments in agriculture is 
in the field of rural engineering. At the Agricultural and Me- 
chanical College a beginning has been made in the subject by em- 
ploying a member of the faculty to offer courses, but the provision 
for equipment is very inadequate indeed as there is practically no 
machinery for study nor is there space for housing such machinery. 



164 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

This work should be given greater attention, and it should be more 
ade(|uatel.y supported. 

2. COMMERCE AND BUSINESS. 

Instruction in commerce and business is now offered both by 
the University and by the Agricultural and Mechanical College. 
The University in 1913 established a School of Commerce and In- 
dustry which in 1917 was reorganized as the School of Public and 
Private Business. The purpose of this work is stated thus : 

"The courses offered are designed to prepare students for occu- 
pations such as the following, accountancy, banking, government 
service, foreign trade, secretarial work, insurance, mercantile bus- 
iness (wholesale or retail), and teaching. The training also serves 
to prepare students to act as private and community business ad- 



visers. ' ' 



To enter the school applicants must have completed one year 
of work in a college of liberal arts. Special curricula are suggested 
for the last two years as follows : 

For general business training 

For banking and finance 

For mercantile business 

For accounting 

For secretarial work 

The Agricultural and Mechanical College established a school of 
commerce and marketing in 1914. The typical fields for which the 
courses prepare are enumerated as follows : 

"High school and college teaching, secretarial work, office man- 
agement, bookkeeping and accounting, banking and finance, mer- 
chandising, marketing, commercial agriculture, personnel admin- 
istration, administrative engineering, industrial management, trans- 
portation and foreign trade." 

Fifteen units of secondary school work are required for admis- 
sion to the school as a candidate for a degree or certificate. Three 
courses of instruction are offered as follows : 

Commerce and marketing course 4 years 

Administrative engineering course 4 years 

Secretarial training course 2 years 

In addition to the above work the Agricultural and Mechanical 
College supports a department of rural enonomics and sociology 
under the school of agriculture. It is stated that the 

"Courses are offered to supplement the production courses in 



HIGHER EDUCATION 165 

the ScHool of x\griculture and are intended to round out the other 
courses by giving the student a knowledge of the economic principles 
which relate to the production and marketing of farm products; 
and they are furthermore intended to stimulate interest in the socio- 
economic conditions of the agricultural classes." 

The enrollments in commerce and business at the two institu- 
tions have been as follows : 

University College 

1915-16 54 

1920-21 217 

1921-22 263 

1922-23 341 

After careful consideration it appears that a School of Com- 
merce and Marketing at the Agricultural and Mechanical College 
is a mistake. In part it is an unnecessary duplication of work done 
at the University. It sets up and advertises work in commerce and 
marketing as a major function of the college — a procedure which 
tends to smother the work in agriculture by diverting both students 
and funds therefrom. It seems clear that the Agricultural and Me- 
chanical College has a distinct and most important service to ren- 
der to the State — a service which is greatly impeded by setting up 
courses of study which have little or no relation to the main purposes 
of the college. 

Occasionally the idea is expressed that the Agricultural and 
Mechanical College should be considered as a class institution, that 
is, an institution which serves a distinct class of people and which 
should, accordingly, offer all courses which that class of people de- 
mand or which they will choose if it is offered to them. This does 
not comport with the more modern ideals concerning such institu- 
tions. 

Agricultural and mechanical colleges have a distinct function 
to perform based on lines of activity rather than on class lines. To 
say that the sons and daughters of farmers or of other industrial 
groups desire training in commerce and business is thus no reason 
for giving such work at the Agricultural and Mechanical College 
when it is offered at the University. 

The work in economics at the Agricultural and Mechanical 
College can and should properly serve three purposes : First, there 
is a need for courses in general economics as a part of the training 
given to students in the school of science and literature. Second, 



166 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

there is an important need for strong work in rural economies. It 
is a subject which is demanding increasing attention. Third, there 
is need for training commercial teachers who shall go into the high 
schools to teach business courses. To offer technical training for 
those whose object is to engage in business should be reserved for 
the University, which is offering well ordered courses for this pur- 
pose.. It is therefore recommended that the school of commerce 
and marketing at the Agricultural and Mechanical College be re- 
duced to a department, and that the department of rural economics 
and sociology be consolidated with it. 

3. MEDICINE. 

The development of medical instruction as a part of the Avork 
of the University of Oklahoma began in 1900 when the first two 
years of a medical course were offered at Norman. In 1910 the 
third and fourth years were established in Oklahoma City. Two 
years later the Training School for Nurses was begun. 

At present the work of the medical school is conducted at three 
places — the University, the old city hospital building, and the new 
hospital built in 1920. It is a very unsatisfactory arrangement. 
There is no real reason for this separation in medicine, in fact it 
militates decidedly against good medical education. So exacting 
and intensive is the study of medicine that the student should be 
kept in the professional atmosphere throughout his course. All of 
the work in medicine should be brought together under one roof in 
Oklahoma City. It is fundamental to the most successful develop- 
ment of medical education in the future. 

The school is comparatively yoimg and it faces an abundance 
of problems. One of these is to provide a larger full time teaching 
staff. The proportion of regular practicing physicians on the staff 
at present is entirely too high. There may be some justification for 
retaining part-time members on the staff but in general the practice 
is not to be encouraged. 

A second problem is to erect a clinical building at the hospital 
and abandon the building now used for clinical purposes. If the 
small building at Norman now used for teaching anatomy is to be 
used further for this purpose it should be increased in size and some 
provision should be made for ventilating the room. In the interest 
of the health and training of the students the present condition 
should no longer be tolerated. 



HIGHER EDUCATION 167 

A SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH NEEDED. 

The University should as soon as possible develop a school of 
public health in conjunction with the medical school. No concern 
of the State can be more important than for the health of her 
people. Public health, preventive medicine, and public hygiene are 
all assuming large importance. Public health officials need a train- 
ing different from that offered for developing practising physicians 
and surgeons, a fact which should be recognized. 

A valuable State service which the medical school should per- 
form is to offer special courses for practising physicians in the State. 
These courses should be planned in consultation with the State 
medical association in such a way as best to accommodate the Okla- 
homa physicians both a^ to the time of year in which they are 
offered and as to the subjects treated. Such courses should aim 
to keep the physicians of the State fully abreast of the latest ad- 
vances in medical science. 

It is very desirable that medical research be carried on in the 
medical school. Opportunity should be offered for such service. 
The medical school would be distinctly stimulated by securing for 
its staff at least one man of outstanding national reputation as an 
investigator in some phase of medicine. 

4. GRADUATE WORK. 

Opportunities for study beyond that for the baccalaureate de- 
gree are offered by the University and the Agricultural and Mechan- 
ical College. The work offered by the University was organized as 
a separate school in 1909, and it is consequently under the adminis- 
tration of a dean and a graduate council assisted by a legislative 
body consisting of the president of the University, the dean of the 
graduate school, and the professors and associate professors of the 
various departments which offer graduate courses. 

The Agricultural and Mechanical College also offers graduate 
work but such work is not organized in a separate school. In both 
institutions the usual requirements for advanced degrees obtain. 
The degrees conferred are as follows : 

Agricultural ajid Mechanical 

College. University 

Master of Science in agriculture. Master of Arts 

Master of science in home economics Master of Science 
Master of science in science and liter- Master of Science in 

ature Education 



168 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

Master of science in education Master of Science in 
Master of science in commerce and mar- Engineering 

keting 

Chemical engineer Chemical engineer 

Civil engineer Civil engineer 

Electrical engineer Electrical engineer 

Mechanical engineer Mechanical engineer 
Architectural engineer 

The enrollments of graduate students are as follows: 

At the University -75 students 

At the Agricultural and Mechanical College 14 students 

Total 89 students 

This is a relatively small number when compared to the total 
of 4,836 undergraduate and special students in the two institutions. 
The condition is undoubtedly due to the com^parative newness of 
the State and to the fact that demands for undergraduate instruc- 
tion have increased so rapidly that the institutions have scarcely 
been able to provide for advanced study. 

Graduate study is a field of work to which the State can well 
afford to give more attention, especially if it desires to secure the 
ablest leadership and to provide for the welfare of its citizens. For 
the present it is wise not to reach out beyond the master's and pro- 
fessional degrees, but work of those grades should be very mater- 
ially strengthened. 

Strong advanced work adds to the standing of a university or 
college and it furnishes inspiration to undergraduates. Graduate 
work leading to the masters' and professional degrees should be 
strengthened at the University in all its major functions, and grad- 
uate work at the Agricultural and Mechanical College leading to 
those degrees should be strengthened in the three major functions 
of the college — agriculture, engineering, and home economics. 

5. EESEARCH. 
One of the important fimctions of institutions of higher learn- 
ing is to promote the public welfare by adding to the store of use- 
ful knowledge, which aids man in his conquest over nature, which 
shows him how to maintain his health, and which promotes his 
happiness generally. In the University, energy is almost entirely 
consumed in instruction and very little is being done in research — 
not an unusual condition in institutions which have grown very rap- 
idly and which had to make giant strides merely to keep up with 



HIGHER EDUCATION 169 

the demands for teaching. The time, however, is at hand when 
emphasis should be placed on contributing to loiowledge. It must 
go hand in hand with the development of strong graduate work. 

At the Agricultural and Mechanical College research in agri- 
culture is organized in an agricultural experiment station, which 
for the year 1921-22 had the following amounts available: 

1. From Federal funds $30,000 

2. From State funds 10,500 

3. Experiment station earnings 7,629 

Total $48,129 

An examination of the work of the station revealed the fact 
that its work is very inadequate. The State for the year 1921-22 
contributed for research in the station only one-tenth as much as 
it gave for extension in agriculture and home economics. In fact 
the support for the experimental Avork is far below what it should 
be in a State with such agricultural possibilities as Oklahoma has. 
Furthermore, the energy which should go into research is being dis- 
ipated in teaching and in extension. Only three men are actually 
engaged on research in the station, and only a very limited number 
of bulletins are published. The station has in recent years made no 
outstanding contribution to agricultural knowledge. 

It is impossible to refrain from calling attention to the havoc 
which short and insecure tenure plays with the activities and plans 
of those who are engaged in the station. The work of research is 
necessarily a long process. Many projects must in the nature of the 
case extend over a period of years. Interruptions in such work are 
likely to result in serious losses. A new investigator is not likely 
to enter on a project, planned and begun by another, with the same 
zest and interest as the originator had in its final outcome. The con- 
tention consequently is that changes in the research staff should be 
made only very rarely and cautiously if real progress is to be made 
in research. 

6. EXTENSION AND CORRESPONDENCE. 

One of the ways by which the State institutions of higher edu- 
cation reach out from their doors to all sections of the State, and 
thus serve the citizens in a very extensive way, is through their ex- 
tension service and correspondence courses. For a number of years 
the University has been building up this service. During the year 
1921-22 it expended $65,408.00 in these activities. The Agricul- 



170 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

tural and Mechanical College administers the extension work in 
agriculture and home economics under the Federal Smith-Lever Act. 
For the year 1921-22 the following amounts were available for 
the work : 

1. Federal funds $190,033 

2. State funds 105,000 

3. County funds 150,956 

Total $445,989 

In addition to the Smith-Lever work the Agricultural and Me- 
chanical College during the year 1921-22 established a "school of 
correspondence study" which offers a wide variety of courses in 
practically all the schools of the college, including 38 secondary 
courses. All of the State teachers' colleges are also offering cor- 
respondence and extension work. The Oklahoma School of Mines is 
conducting correspondence courses in mining. Nine institutions 
are now engaged in this work and they have enrolled in the var- 
ious courses a total of 3,798 people. (See Table 19). 

Extension and correspondence work in Oklahoma has great 
possibilities, and it should be encouraged by generous appropria- 
tions from the State along many lines. However, the State teachers' 
colleges, and to some extent the Agricultural and Mechanical Col- 
lege, have attempted too broad an extension program. The exten- 
sion and correspondence work at the Agricultural and Mechanical 
College should be confined to the major functions of that institu- 
tion, that is to agriculture, engineering, and home economics. The 
teachers' colleges should by no means enter the field of correspond- 
ence and extension service for the training of teachers above the 
elementary grades so long as they are not prepared to train sec- 
ondary teachers in residence courses. 

The present practice of having extension classes taught by 
local school superintendents and principals is decidedly open to 
question. It is very difficult properly to safeguard the selection 
of these instructors, and for the institution to have that control 
over the character and quality of the class work which is necessary 
to guarantee uniformly high standards. Extension classes should 
therefore be conducted by members of the regular faculty only. 

At the University and at the Agricultural and Mechanical Col- 
lege the extension and correspondence activities are divided among 
several administrative officers. This situation inevitably leads to 



HIGHER EDUCATION 171 

a lack of coordination of effort and to confusion in administration. 
For these reasons it is suggested that a single extension director at 
each of these institutions be placed in charge of all such activities 
conducted by the respective institutions. 

In order that wasteful and unnecessary duplication of effort 
in these fields may be avoided, and in order that there may be some 
uniformity in extension practices, it is recomjnended that the ex- 
tension directors of the several higher educational institutions meet 
and agree on a program. The followng are some of the subjects to 
be considered: 

1. Limitation of the field of activity for each of the several 
institutions. 

2. Exchange of credits. 

3. Transfer of registrations. 

4. Uniform scale of fees. 

5. Regulations for conducting extension classes. 

7. THE HIGHER EDUCATION OF NEGROES. 

The purpose of State higher education for Negroes is threefold : 
Firsts teachers must be trained for the Negro schools. The number 
of Negro teachers in the State is: rural and elementary schools, 
1,170; accredited high schools, 117. 

Second, vocational training must be given, as is mentioned 
elsewhere. Third, there is need for a number of Negroes who are 
trained in the professions such as medicine, the ministry, etc. 

The only institution of higher learning for Negroes in the State 
is the Colored Agricultural and Normal University at Langston, 
which offers a four year high school curriculum and two years nor- 
mal and college curricula. It now enrolls 344 students, of whom 
115 are above high school grade. The number of normal diplomas 
granted in respective years was as follows: 1916, 23; 1921, 37; 
1922, 75. In addition four bachelor of science degrees were granted 
in 1916.* It is apparent that the institution is primarily a normal 
school. 

♦Normal training for Negroes is offered in four high schools under an Act 
of 191S mentioned elsewhere. 

Excellent progress has been made in the school during the 
past few years since it has been under the present management. 
This progress has, however, been principally in providing buildings 
and sanitation, chiefly because these matters had to receive atten- 
tion before others. In fact, so much attention and energy of the 
management had to be given to these needs that there seems to have 



172 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



been a lack of attention to instruction, for which the fault attaches 
to the State because it has not provided the necessary facilities for 
housing the students and the activities of the school. The manage- 
ment has done very well indeed with the meager State support 
which it received. 

The situation above described has resulted in deficient facilities 
for instruction. The library has only a few hundred volumes, it 
should have at least ten thousand. The laboratories are not at all 
sufficiently equipped for even secondary instruction. Much more 
shop equipment of various kinds is an absolute necessity if the work 
in manual arts is to serve a useful purpose. One of the greatest 
needs is for an adequate and well organized training or practice 
school. At present the only pupils available for such purpose are 
the following: Grades 1-6, 18; grade 7, 29; grade 8, 30. These 
classes are far from suitable for training school purposes. 

A study of conditions shows that the first step toward improv- 
ing the institution should be to change its location. Three reasons 



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\ J CANADIAN l(| lOKL/ 

A I R14 



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! 614 



fi 



! 771 



1541 



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ROGERS j 

550 • "<■"" 



CHEROKEE | 

835 I AOAIR 

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i 846 r \460 11916 | «17 ' j-^ 2 . 334 ^^^ 

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KIOWA I I 14'0 I MCCLAIN ~-~ — .^y.i^-^/^ ^— t.TfTiBUR51 -j ^„,„. J-L|lE ELOR^ 

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T ! J 1— - loi^viBv -j '°;;i°A°°,--i .^.^ \ i I 

TILLMAN t, ; '^f JOMN«TON ! ATOKA j 386 ril-IIlH 

i^l i •JTe" I IcARTERl—l _659 ! 1204 .y:: | |||| || 

^^»— »— ij-l,_A JEFFERSON | 488 7 ^ ' \— f^ - T ,' — ' f I : '- '*^}'^^'^P ^ 

^"^ C 402 I r^ MARSHALL V I |CMOCT}ii^ | I I I ifel! t itC 



CIMARRON : 


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eCAVER 1 


2 ! 


15 


i 

1 



(•) LOOATIOH OP THE COLOIfflD AGRICDLTURiL 
^-^ ABB HORMAL UUIVEHaiTT 



m 



C0TOTIE3 HAVIHG MORE THAK 6,600 MEGROES - 8 COnHTIES 
COUKirES HAVIKG PBOM 2,000 TO 6,500 BEGEOES - 10 C0iraTIB3 

FIGURE 14 



HIGHER EDUCATION 



173 



may be stated for this view: First, the Negro population of the 
State is fairly well concentrated in certain sections, as is evident 
from Figure 14. Logan County, in which the school is now located, 
had in 1920, a Negro population of 6,422. At the same time each 
of the following eight counties had a larger Negro population than 
had Logan County : 



Muskogee - 15,310 

Oklahoma 11,401 

Tulsa 10,903 

Okmulgee 9,791 



Okfuskee 8,617 

Wagoner 7,093 

McCurtain 6,914 

Creek 6,794 



These eight counties contained 56 per cent of the State's Negro 
population. It may be noted that six of these eight counties form 
a contiguous district. Quite obviously if the school is to serve the 
Negro population it should be located somewhere in this district. 
Further study shows that, barring Logan County, 62 per cent of 
those enrolled in the school come from nine counties, which form 
a fairly contiguous district (See Figure 15) as follows: 




I 



i (•) LOCATIOT OP THE C0l,OHKD ACRtCOLTORAl 
i AKD MOHMAL DHIVKR3ITT 



I 



C0UDTIS3 PROM WHICH 10 OR MORE STUDEHT3 ARS EBHOLLED 

FIGURE 15 



174 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

Okmulgee 25 IMuskogee 18 

Lincoln 21 Wagoner 14 

Oklahoma 19 Okfuskee 10 

Creek 18 Tulsa 10 

Mcintosh 18 

If the school is to be the capstone of a State system of Negro 
education it should have close contact with the secondary and 
elementary schools, and it should furnish inspiration and leadership 
for the lower schools. This is next to impossible if the institution 
is so far removed from the center of activity. The cost of extension 
activities at great distances prevents such activities on the part of 
the school. 

A second reason and an important one for a change in location 
is that where the school now is there are not enough children to 
organize a satisfactory training school. Only 67 pupils below high 
school grade are now available for such purpose, and a number of 
these are unsuitable. Most of those enrolled in the 7th and 8th 
grades are from various parts of the State. There is a small Negro 
school at Langston, over a mile distant from the institution, but due 
to the attitude of the town this school is not available for teacher 
training purposes. 

If the Colored Agricultural and Normal University is really to 
train teachers for the Negro schools of Oklahoma it should have 
training school facilities of from 250 to 300 pupils, some organized 
as a graded school, others organized as rural schools. There appears 
to be no way by which such facilities can ever be assured where the 
institution is now located. There are not enough children in the 
community for such purposes. 

Third, the school at present is several miles from the railroad, 
and this circumstance adds considerably to the expense of running 
the school. The expense for coal alone is thousands of dollars higher 
than if it could be unloaded into the storage room from the car 
directly. New buildings cost more because of the drayage involved 
It is an expense which will continue as long as the school remains 
where it now is. 

It is thus evident that the location of the school could and should 
be greatly improved by changing it. Now is the opportune time to 
take this step if a program is to be adopted which will bring the 
school up to the needs of the Negro population of the State. It is 



HIGHER EDUCATION 175 

very doubtful whether the school can ever serve its constituency in 
an economical manner if left where it now is. 

The value of the part of the present plant which could not be 
moved is very slight indeed when it is compared with what will 
have to be done to make the school worthy of the State. The build- 
ings are mostly of cheap construction and are altogether inadequate. 
The girls' dormitory is a fire trap which should immediately be re- 
placed with a modern building. Another boys' dormitory should 
be built at once. A building for trades is also an immediate neces- 
sity. These are only a few of the projects which should be carried 
out very soon. In a ten year building program the present build- 
ings are a negligible factor. 

VI. STANDARDS OF HIGHER ' EDUCATION, JUNIOR COL- 
LEGES, AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS. 
1. STANDARDS. 

The accrediting of high schools in Oklahoma was begun by the 
University and was later taken over by the State Department of 
Education. The work is carried on under a plan whereby high 
schools are accredited for certain courses thus assuring that all of 
the high school work will be kept up to standard. This system is 
excellent. The accrediting so far as could be determined is well 
done. 

The entrance credentials submitted by those seeking admission 
to the university are checked with much care, and high entrance 
standards are maintained. No judgment can be passed on this work 
at the Agricultural and Mechanical College, for the reason that the 
original certificates submitted by entrants are not always kept on 
file. This is an inexcusable negligence and not at all in keeping 
with good practice. 

Entrance credits practice and records are not in satisfactory 
condition at the college for women. The attempt is made to evalu- 
ate the entrance credits, honestly, but the work lacks system and 
is carelessly done. Likewise the records of entrance at the State 
teachers' colleges generally are not adequately handled. At the 
Oklahoma School of Mines virtually no evaluation and record of 
entrance credentials is kept. 

In order that entrance credits may be more easily and uniform- 
ly evaluated and classified, it is recommended that all the State in- 
stitutions of higher learning and the State Department of Education 
join in the adoption of a uniform high school and college entrance 



176 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



certificate. It is further recommended that the original college 
entrance certificates accepted by the institutions of higher learning 
be kept on file at the institutions. 

In a general way, to take the college curricula of the various 
institutions students are required to present 15 units of entrance 
credits, though conditional entrance is granted with 14 units. The 
State teachers' colleges make no further requirement, but several 
of the other institutions prescribe certain work as follows : 

THE UNIVERSITY. 



Subjects 



English 

Foreign language 
Algebra 

Plane geometry .. 
Solid geometry . 
Science 

History 

Piano or violin .. 
Elective 



Arts and 
Science 



3 
2 
1 



Required Items 



Engin- 
eering 



3 
2 
1% 

1 

1 
1 

5, 



Fine 
Arts 



Medicine 



Phar- 
macy 

3 
2 
1 

1 

1 

1 

6 



AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE 





Agriculture, Home 




Economics, Com- ! 


Subjects 


merce and Marketing \ 




Education and Veter- 




inary Medicine 


English 


3 


Foreign language 


.... 


Algebra 


1 


Plane geometry 


1 


Solid geometry .... 


.... 


Science 


1 


Social science 


1 


Elective 


8 





Required Units 
Engineering, 

including rural 
and administra- 
tive engineering 

3 

1 

1% 
1 



Science and 
literature 



3 

1 

1 2-3 

1 



1 

7 1-3 



College for Women: The entrance requirements are the same 
for all curricula, and correspond exactly to those demanded at the 
University for entrance to the arts and science curricula. 

Miami School of Mines: The entrance requirements are the 
same as those at the University. 

Oklahoma School of Mines : ' ' Candidates for degrees in Mining 



HIGHER EDUCATION 177 

and Metallurgy Engineering must satisfy the Faculty of the school 
by evidence that they have satisfactorily completed a course in a 
liigh school of recognized standing." 

The entrance requirements are sufficiently liberal. It is rec- 
ommended that the major portion of any high school curriculum 
accepted by the institutions of higher education be definitely corre- 
lated Avith the course of study to which the student is admitted. 
This requirement will reduce the amount of instruction at the higher 
institutions which is in reality of secondary grade. 

Admission with advanced standing is permitted at the Uni- 
versity and at the College for Women only on the basis of evaluation 
by courses. In certain cases this is likcAvise true of the Agricultural 
and Mechanical College but the following statement appears in the 
catalogue : 

"Graduates from the two-year courses in normal schools in 
Oklahoma will receive junior standing in the schools of home econ- 
omics, education, and commerce, and marketing, and in the depart- 
ments of agricultural education, rural economics and the general 
courses in the school of agrciulture; in the school of engineering 
and science and literature and in the remaining courses in the school 
of agriculture, they will receive the credits to which their previous 
work entitles them." 

The first part of the statement quoted announces an unwar- 
ranted procedure. Much of the work of the two-year teachers col- 
lege curricula is of elementary nature. ElscAvhere it is recommended 
that the curricula for the training of elementary teachers and the 
curricula for the training of secondary teachers be clearly differ- 
entiated. It is recommended, further, that graduates from the two- 
year curricula of the teachers' colleges, instead of receiving a blanket 
credit for two years of college work, receive credit only for such 
specific courses as can properly be considered of college character. 

2. JUNIOR COLLEGES. 

Oklahoma has two junior colleges under State control, and 
several localities have definitely begun junior college work by giv- 
ing one year of college work in connection with their high schools. 
There are also two privately controlled junior colleges within the 
State. 

A recommendation has already been made regarding one of 
the junior colleges, the Miami School of Mines. The school needs a 
considerable addition to its laboratory equipment. The library con- 
tains only a few books, it should have at least 10,000 volumes for 



178 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



junior college work. Of the nine faculty members who give in- 
struction in college subjects two have degrees above the baccalau- 
reate degree, six have baccalaureate degrees, and one has no bac- 
calaureate degree. 

Both in equipment and in the faculty the school must be 
strengthened to become a standard junior college. The secondary 
work is being dropped because there is very little demand for il. 
The present program of instruction is outlined to articulate with 
the University of Oklahoma, except the curriculum in mining en- 
gineering, which is devised to articulate with the work of the 
Missouri State School of Mines and Metallurgy. The institution, 
while located in an enterprising and gi-owing city, is unfortunately 
located from the point of view of accessibility to the State, a conii- 
tion which is reflected by the fact that 87 per cent of the 89 Okla- 
homa residents who are college students in the school are resident;, 
of Ottawa County, that is, the school is principally a local an i 
county institution which is supported at State expense. In the opin- 
ion of the Survey, this school should be located at Claremore. It 
would then be at a railroad center, and it would be strategically 
located to render a regional and State rather than a more or less 
local service. 

The case of the other junior college, the Panhandle Agricultural 
and Mechanical College, remains to be considered. Undoubtedly the 
purpose in extending the course of study of the Panhandle Agricul- 
tural Institute in 1921 to include two years of college work was 
to provide collegiate education for a section of the State which is 
far removed from the State institutions of higher learning. Else- 
where it is recommended that the State District Agricultural Schools 
be gradually discontinued and that a system of adequate State aid 
for high schools be developed. This recommendation is especially 
applicable to the Panhandle School. Already there are 12 accred- 
ited high schools in the three panhandle counties. (See Figure 16.) 



© Kenton (7) 



Tyrone (18i)j; 
Hooker (26)( 



Cfs Bolee City 

^ (i7i) 




Forgan 
(16i) 



Beaver (S\ 



0__KnoTileB (Si) 



Ouymon (NC)( 

, GoodTiell 
lfe:ihoina (17g) 



© Balko (7) 
0Gray (8^) 



Gate 
(12)1 



DIAGRAM SHOWING THE LOCATION OF ACCREDITED HIGH SCHOOLS 

IN THE PANHANDLE COUNTIES OF OKLAHOMA. THE NUMBERS 

INDICATE THE NUMBER OF UNITS FOR "WHICH THE SCHOOLS 

ARE ACCREDITED. THE HIGH SCHOOL AT GUYMON IS 

ACCREDITED BY THE NORTH CENTRAL ASSOCIATION. 

FIGURE 16 



HIGHER EDUCATION 179 

With a system of State aid, these high schools will develop 
rapidly and others will be established as they are needed. Further- 
more, under the county unit system which is recommended, the high 
schools of a county can be so located that they will be accessible to 
all the youths of the county, who can attend them and room and 
board at home. 

The question then arises, Avhat provision shall be made to give 
higher education to the graduates of the high schools. Two courses 
are open. First, the institution at Goodwell can be maintained as 
a junior college. In November it reported a college enrollment of 
46. The institution is quite imprepared to give instruction of col- 
lege grade. The laboratory equipment, with the possible exception 
of that for home economics, is inadequate even for secondary work. 
Of the 10 members of the faculty who give college courses, exclud- 
ing the director of music, 7 have baccalaureate degrees, 2 have nor- 
mal school diplomas, and 1 is a student assistant with no certificate 
of graduation. No member of the faculty has a master's degree. 

The library consists of 1,800 volumes, of which number approx- 
imately 500 are useful ; the rest are practically worthless for a jun- 
ior college library. Under no circumstances should the college work 
be continued with the present facilities and staff. To give such 
work under the guise of a college is to deceive the young men and 
the young women who enroll in the institution. 

If a junior college is to be maintained it should be kept up to 
such a standard that it will be recognized by the State university. 
This will cost out of proportion to the present number of students, 
but in five years, Avith rapid high school development in the 3an- 
handle counties, there 'should be 125 students wanting to take jun- 
ior college work. 

A second course which is open to provide instruction of college 
grade is for the State to pay the round trip transportation annually 
of students from the three panhandle counties to any of the follow- 
ing which a student desires to attend : The University of Oklahoma, 
the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College, and the North- 
western State Teachers College. Such a plan would cost the State 
less money than would the education of those students in a first- 
class junior college in the panhandle. A disadvantage of such a 
plan from the State point of view is that a large proportion of the 
students would probably not return to develop the counties which 
are their homes. 

It is recommended that the junior college work at the Panhandle 



180 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

Agricultural and Mechanical College be gradually brought up to 
recognized standards ; that the college work be materially improved 
for next year (1923-24) ; and that the high school work be discon- 
tinued by dropping the first year in June, 1923, the second year in 
June, 1924, the third year in June, 1925, and the fourth year in 
June, 1926. 

The University has been aAvake to the junior college movements 
and it has consequently set up regulations regarding university 
credit for junior college work. Neither of the two existing State 
junior colleges measures up fully to these regulations. 

A STATE POLICY WITH REFERENCE TO JUNIOR COLLEGES 

ESSENTIAL. 

In the short time allotted for the survey it has not been possi- 
ble to make a full study of the junior college problem in Oklahoma. 
However, the committee believes that as a result of a relatively 
small number of good privately supported colleges in the State it is 
necessary, as has already been stated, for the State to support high- 
er education to a degree unnecessary in other States. Furthermore, 
with the rapid increase in population and the great development of 
secondary education it has already been demonstrated that the 
State will be compelled to resort to unusual measures to support 
higher education and probably to relieve the university at least 
from some of the burden of student enrollment. For this reason the 
committee has approved the continuation of two existing schools as 
junior colleges, and it believes that the State can very well afford 
to consider favorably the organization of a system of junior colleges 
by the addition of perhaps three more jumor colleges located at 
strategic railway centers in the State. The work of these junior 
colleges should be definitely correlated with that of the university, 
and they should be administered by the university board of regents 
except of course in the case of the Panhandle Junior College of 
Agriculture which should be under the governing board of the Agri- 
cultural and Mechanical College. 

3. OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS. 

Several additional suggestions and recommendations pertain to 
a number of unrelated matters. First,, it is recommended that ser- 
ious consideration be given by the State authorities to the de- 
sirability of removing certain of the educational institutions to 
other locations in which they might be able to render more accept- 
able service to the State. Inaccessibility and inconvenient rail- 



HIGHER EDUCATION 181 

road connections are serious handicaps to the growth and develop- 
ment of all institutions. 

Second, it is suggested that catalogs of institutions should not 
print outlines of courses which they have no reasonable expectation 
of offering. The following data indicate the percentage of courses 
offered which were actually given in 1921-22 : 

University 75 ^ 

Agricultural & Mechanical College 77 

College for Women 55 

State Teachers' Colleges: 

Central 59 

East Central 68 

Southeastern 51 

Northeastern 57 

Southwestern 49 

Northwestern 46 

All of the State teachers' colleges print the State courses, 
but as is quite obvious none of them gives them all. To advertise 
so many offerings without the possibilities of giving them is likely 
to deceive the citizens of the State. It is proper to advertise 
offerings which depend on the registration but these should be 
kept within reasonable bounds. 

It is also suggested that the catalogs should omit such matter 
as that pertaining to the healthfulness of the commimity, the 
scenic beauty of the environment, and other items which may be 
taken for granted. Complete and accurate statistical information 
on the faculty, enrollments, diplomas, and degrees granted, size of 
library, income, etc., should be included. Some idea of the kind 
of information which a catalog should contain may be had from a 
study of the requests for information which are constantly being 
received from prospective students and from citizens of the State. 
A catalog should partake of the nature of a reliable report as 
well as of the nature of an advertisement. 

Third, it is recommended that the State establish a rotary loan 
fund at each institution of higher education, such a fund to be 
available to worthy students who need assistance. Beginnings 
have already been made in this service. The fund should be con- 
ducted in a business-like way and it should in five or six years be- 
come self-sustaining. 



182 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

VII. STUDENT WELFARE. 
1. PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND HEALTH. 

When the War Department fmdings in regard to the health 
•of the young men of the country were made public there followed 
a great wave of interest in all matters relating to the physical 
well-being of children and young people. Departments of physical 
education which had tended toward more competitive athletics 
broadened their activities and added physicians to their staffs. In 
most of the leading educational institutions the responsibility of 
promoting the physical development of the youth was recognized. 

This recognition has resulted in certain definite programs for 
promoting health. First, facilities were provided for thorough 
medical examinations for all students at least once a year and as 
many more times as such examinations were deemed necessary. 
Second^ provision was made for remedial or curative treatment 
for all students in need of it. Third, the support of an infirmary 
with nursing and medical care has been adopted to assure all stud- 
ents good care during temporary illness. Fourth, gymnasiums and 
athletic fields were enlarged and improved. Fifth, the physical 
education staffs were increased. Sixth, instruction in health and 
hygiene are given to all freshmen students. 

CONDITIONS IN OKLAHOMA. 

The Oklahoma higher educational institutions Avere left al- 
most untouched by this increased interest in the halth of their 
^students, principally, perhaps, because of lack of financial support. 
Practically no thorough physical examinations are given. The 
best conditions in this respect exist at the college for women but 
even there the conditions are far from ideal. Remedial and cura- 
tive treatment is likewise given only to a very limited degree. At 
the University there is an inadequate infirmary, but elsewhere in 
the State no provision is made for the isolation and care of ill 
students. 

Physical education for women at the College for Women is 
given under good conditions and is of a superior type. At the 
University the quality of the provision is good, but it is insuf- 
ficient as to quantity. At the Agricultural and Mechanical Col- 
lege the rooms used by the women and all other facilities for their 
physical education are so deficient that nothing can be said in 
approval. Conditions at the teachers' colleges vary from insuffi- 
cient quarters to almost no provision at all. 



HIGHER EDUCATION 183 

The men students at the Agricultural and Mechanical College 
have an excellent gymnasium, but physical education does not 
seem to receive careful consideration at the time of making the 
schedule and of registering students, hence physical training at 
the college is far less effective than it should be. Physical edu- 
cation for men at the University is housed under very bad conditions. 
There is a law in Oklahoma requiring that all prespective teachers 
be instructed in hygiene. The law is ineffective and nowhere in 
the State is there an adequate required course in hygiene given to 
all students. 

RECOMMENDATIONS. 

The following recommendations are made : 

Firsts In each educational institution enrolling 1,000 or more 
students, there should be at least one physician employed on full 
time and attached either to the physical education staff or to the 
biological science division. Such officer should not be required 
to give instruction in any other subject excepting hygiene, he should 
have charge of all medical examinations, and complete oversight of 
tiie infirmary. 

Second, In institutions with an enrollment of less than 1,000 
a physician should be employed for a definite portion of his time, 
with like responsibilities and authority. 

Third, Full-time women physicians should be employed at 
the Womans College, the State University, and the Agricultural 
College, who shall devote their entire time to the health and welfare 
of the women students. 

Fourth, Modern and adequate infirmaries should be maintained 
at each of the higher educational institutions. 

Fifth, Physical education and hygiene should receive much 
greater consideration at the normal schools than is now jr<vcn. 
and full time physical education instructors should be employed. 
The gymnasium should be repaired or rebuilt, and supplied with 
suitable conveniences. 

Sixth, For the men students at the State University there should 
be built a modern, adequate gymnasium, to the end that all men 
shall have ample opportunity for the finest physical development 
possible. 

Seventh, Provision should be made immediately for sni^al le 
quarters for the phj^sical education of M^omen at the Agricultural 
College. 



184 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

2. STUDENT HOUSING AND FEEDING. 

Financing higher education in a new State is usually accomplish- 
ed with more or less difficulty. It is usual that provision for 
classrooms come first, and that libraries and laboratories are pro- 
vided next. Auditoriums, gymnasiums, and dormitories must 
usually wait. With but few exceptions the educational authorities 
in the newer States have been slow to recognize the obligation to 
provide satisfactory living conditions for college students as well 
as to provide for intellectual training. 

Not infrequently the residents of a college town look upon the 
profits derived from housing and feeding students as their own 
peculiar legitimate and unqestionable prerequisites. In time a con- 
siderable portion of the householders make student boarding their 
chief occupation, and they may bring no little pressure to bear 
against any proposed infringement upon their assumed rights to 
student patronage. As student enrollment usually increases more 
rapidly than housing facilities develop, it is but a question of time 
until over-crowding and over-charging are coexistent. Moreover, 
it is seldom that the typical student rooming house is properly sup- 
plied with bathing facilities and other modern sanitary conveniences. 

CONDITIONS IN OKLAHOMA. 

The Oklahoma towns having institutions of higher learning are 
not different from those of other States. There are both over- 
crowding and unsatisfactory feeding conditions. The College foi 
Women is the only State institution having satisfactory housing 
and feeding accomodations, but these conditions are adequate only 
for the present student body. They should immediately be en- 
larged to accommodate all who desire entrance. If it is deemed 
desirable for a short time to continue the admission of pupils of 
high school grades, these pupils should be placed in a dormitory 
separate from the college group. The employment of a trained 
dietitian is to be highly commended. 

At the Agricultural and Mechanical College but one-fifth of 
'the women students are housed on the campus, and no dining hall 
is provided for them. It is generally conceded that students in dor- 
mitories should be fed in a dining hall, not in a cafeteria. Opportu- 
nity for certain social training, most valuable to educated men and 
women, is lost when no well ordered dining hall is maintained. 

The cafeteria at the Agricultural and Mechanical college is 
conducted at a financial loss to the State. Little can be said to 



HIGHER EDUCATION 185 

justify the conduct of a college cafeteria or dormitory on such a 
basis. This cafeteria, if it were properly equipped and organized, 
and administered by a trained woman, would aid greatly in regulat- 
ing the cost of food, and in establishing standards of quality and 
sanitation in food service for the entire toAvn of Stillwater. 

Attempts have been and much has been accomplished in both 
housing and feeding students at the Colored Agricultural and Nor- 
mal University, but much remains to be done. The dormitories 
are greatly overcrowded, so much so as to endanger not only the 
physical but also the moral health of the students. Immediate 
relief should be afforded. The provision for sanitary preparation 
and service of food is excellent, and the authorities are to be com- 
mended for their marked accomplishment. This school is the only 
one in the State which maintains a modern and sanitary laundry 
thus assuring to the students a full supply of clean personal and 
bed linen. 

With the exceptions mentioned practically nothing has been 
done for the physical comfort of the students. 

EECOMMENDATIONS. 

The following recommendations are made: 

First, Oklahoma should immediately accept her responsibility 
for properly housing and feeding at least one-half of the women 
students in the high educational institutions. 

Second, Cafeterias administered by the home economics depart- 
ments should be maintained for the day students at the State in- 
stitutions. 

Third, As soon as practicable a portion of the men students 
should be accomodated in college-owned dormitories. 

The value of properly supervised living conditions for students 
is social as well as physical, and, with the greatly increased num- 
ber of young people separated from home and thrown together in 
their college years, it is increasingly important that every possible 
provision be made for their wise guidance, their social direction, 
and their phyiscal well-being. 

VIII. PHYSICAL EQUIPMENT, COSTS. 

1. LAND. 

One of the important items in the development of Oklahoma's 
higher educational institutions is that of a sufficient amount of land 
for each. None of the schools now has enough land for its ultimate 



186 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

needs. In most cases the land adjacent to the campus is being 
rapidly built upon, and in a short time it will be very expensive and 
prohibitive to secure the needed land contiguous to the campuses. 
Not only should there be adequate campus space for properly lo- 
cating all buildings eventually needed, but each institution should 
have ample land for playgrounds for all students. One acre of 
level playground for each 25 students of maximum enrollment 
should be available. 

The folloAving statement gives the amounts of land at the var- 
ious institutions and the amounts which the Survey recommends : 

No. of Acres 
Location of Institution Present Acreage Recommended 

Norman 
Stillwater 

Chickasha 

Ada 

Alva 

Durant 

Edmond 

Tahlequah 

Weatherford 

Langston 

Miami 

Wilburton 

Goodwell 

2. BUILDINGS AND SCIENTIFIC EQUIPMENT. 

Buildings at all State higher educational institutions are in- 
adequate for present enrollments. Some buildings are wholly 
unfit for use and should be replaced within the next year. Many 
new buildings will have to be erected to care for the increasing 
enrollments unless such enrollments are to be limited by the physical 
equipment of the institutions. 

It is recommended that a State building program for all in- 
stitutions of higher learning be adopted for a period of ten years 
with a view to providing each school with the necessary buildings. 
In several of the institutions there are excellent buildings, well de- 
signed for their purposes, and well equipped and cared for. It 
seems very necessary, however, that at this time the future devel- 
opment of each institution be carefully considered, that land fully 



120 


600 


80 campus 


2000 


920 farm 




42 


200 


20 


125 




125 


25 


125 


13 


125 




125 


20 


125 


160 (?) 


250 


42 


100 


40 




650 (?) 





HIGHER EDUCATION 187 

adequate to future needs be secured, and that comprehensive build- 
ing and landscape plans be matured. 

Plans for the future of the University and the Agricultural and 
Mechanical College should look forward to enrollments of from 
5,000 to 8,000 students each; for the College for Women, 1,000 
students; and for each of the State teachers' colleges from 800 to 
1,000 college students. 

It is further recommended that no money for buildiigs be 
available for any institution until a satisfactory plan for the location 
of all buildings contemplated during the ten year period is prepared 
by a competent architect, and until an acceptable type of archi- 
tecture has been selected. Other recommendations pertaining to 
buildings are made elsewhere. 

Throughout the several State institutions generous appropri- 
ations are needed to provide for more scientific equipment. While 
certain departments in the University and the Agricultural and Me- 
chanical College are reasonably well equipped, the increase in at- 
tendance in those institutions has far outstripped the equipment 
in most departments, and some are sadly lacking. None of the 
teachers' colleges has scientific equipment that would compare 
favorably with that in a first class city high school. In several 
instances the equpiment was greatly neglected. A scientific de- 
partment in disorder cannot but have a demoralizing effect on young 
people. 

Attention need scarcely be directed to the fact that when once 
buildings are erected a sufficient amount of money should be available 
to keep them in complete repair. Adequate janitor service should be 
provided for all educational buildings. State buildings cannot be 
k^ept in proper condition by students. Slovenly buildings should 
not be tolerated. In all women's dormitories proper supervision 
of rooms should be provided, to see that all rooms are properly 
kept, and there should be sufficient maid service to care for all 
bath rooms, corridors, and living rooms. In all men's dormitories 
matrons should be in charge and there should be women to keep the 
rooms in order and to clean them. The linens for boys' rooms 
should be provided by the institutions, and a sufficient rental and 
laundry fee should be charged to cover purchase and renewal of 
linen and the cost of laundry. 

3. LIBRARIES. 

The library is and must remain a principal feature of any edu- 
cational institution. It is fundamental to high standards of teach- 



188 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

ing and scholarship, no other provision can supplant it. One of the 
greatest needs in the State institutions of higher education is bet- 
ter provision for libraries. None of the schools has enough useful 
books or sufficient library accommodations. 

The following recommendations are made : 

First, The funds available for books and magazines at the 
several institutions should be as follows for each college student 
of the average enrollment from September to June : 

University $10.00 ($35,000 for 1923-24) 

Agricultural and Mechanical 

College 7.50 ($15,000 for 1923-24) 

College for Women 5.00 ($ 3,000 for 1923-24) 

State teachers' colleges 5.00 ($3,000 each for 1923-24) 

Colored Agricultural and 

Normal University 5.00 ($ 2,000 for 1923-24) 

Junior College 5.00 ($ 2,000 for 1923-24) 

Second, The amounts available for salaries of the library 
staffs should be approximately equal to the amounts available for 
books on the above basis. 

Third, At each institution plans for the enlargement of the 
present library building, or for a new library building, should be 
prepared after consultation with expert librarians of larger in- 
stitutions, which, on careful estimate, will seat in the reading room 
from 15 to 20 per cent of the enrollment of the institution, and which 
will house all the books which will be needed as the institution ex- 
pands in the future. There should also be ample provision for 
seminar rooms, work rooms for libraries, etc. 

4. THE COST OF THE PROGRAM. 
There remains to be considered the cost of an adequate State 
system of higher education in Oklahoma. It is recommended that 
for land and buildings at each institution approximately the fol- 
lowing sums be made available annually for ten years : 

State University $750,000 

Agricultural and Mechanical College 450,000 

College for Women 200,000 

Each State teachers' college 125,000 

Colored Agricultural and Normal University 125,000 

In general each institution should have, when properly equip- 
ped, educational buildings totaling in cost about $1,000.00 for each 
full-time college student of the average enrollment from Septem- 



HIGHER EDUCATION 



189 



ber to June, and in addition such dormitories and other buildings as 
are necessary to meet the needs. 1. 

1. The number of students enrolled on October 15 is very near the averag.? 
number enrolled throughout the year. 

Using a per capita basis a reasonable estimate can also be 
made for the operation and upkeep of the institutions. For the 
proper maintenance and upkeep of the various institutions the fol- 
lowing per capita of college students of average enrollment from 
September to June should be available : 

For the University $350 to $400 per student 

For the Agricultural and Mechanical 

College $350 to $400 per student 

For the College for Women $300 per student 

For the State teachers' colleges $300 per student 

For the Colored Agricultural and 

Normal University $250 per student 

If the several institutions are to continue their secondary school 
Avork the allowance for such students should not exceed $1.00 per 
capita. 

TABLE 20.— FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR USE, YEAR ENDED 

JUNE 30, 1922. 



Location of 
Institutions 



Q to 



1 TJ « 
C -^ C 

0) 



ii 'O ^ u bi ^ 

^ ^ s --S . ^ 

fa c3 .S T> '*-' -^ 



m I I 

3 S C 



Ci( 03 £ 



!0 

e 

03 :5 
P > 



as 

01 — ' 
<♦-< ^ 

°BB 



b1 c c o 
o 



03 
u . . 

fc <S 6 



^ 3> = c 



Norman 

Stillwater ... 
Chickasha ... 

Ada 

Alva 

Durant 

Edmond 

Tahlequah ... 
Weatherford 

Langston 

Wilburton ... 

Miami 

Goodwiell .... 
Total 



1,258,135 

625,590 

121,214 

79,807 

72,230 

88,561 

119,471 

62,830 

69,992 

90,616 

36,140 

20,000 

39,719 

2,684,305 



80,219 
40,650 



3,334 

4,750 
8,000 

23,750 

8,740 

8,000 

50.000 

227,443 



1,338,354 

1,160,358* 

121,214 

79,807 

72,230 

91,895 

124,221 

70,830 

69,992 

114,366 

44,880 

28,000 

89.719 

3,405,866 



99,202 

20,032 
4,191 

3,966 

13,096 

2,220 

1,461 



1.361 

145,529 



59,020 



37,552 



29,404 
125,976 



'Includes $48,129 for agricultural experiment stations and $445,989 for agri- 
cultural and home economics extension. 

§This table includes funds for summer schools, for extension and correspond- 
ence work, and for other activities. The amount available for resident 
instruction during the year from September to June is considerably less 
than that given in column 2. 



190 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

Table 20 sets forth the amounts of funds available at the State 
institutions for the year ended June 30, 1922. 

This year, 1922-23, with somewhat more than 10,500 enrolled, 
not including those for training school purposes, and including about 
7,900 of college grade, there is available from all sources for their 
education about $1,790,000.00. On the basis suggested above, about 
$3,000,000.00 for salaries, operation and upkeep is needed to pro- 
vide properly for the work. For the year 1923-24, with a decrease 
in the enrollment of secondary students and a reasonable increase 
in the enrollment of college students, it seems probable that these in- 
stitutions will enroll approximately 11,000 students, of whom 9,500 
will be of college rank, and appropriations of from $3,350,000.00 
to $3,400,000.00 should be available. 

The following are the estimated needs for operation and upkeep 
of the various schools for the year 1923-24: 

University :.$1,450,000 

Agricultural and Mechanical College 800,000 

College for Women 125,000 

State teachers' colleges: 

Central 180,000 

East Central 150,000 

Southeastern 150,000 

Norteastern 125,000 

Northwestern 125,000 

Southwestern 125,000 

These estimates do not include appropriations for summer terms, 
extension work, experiment station and research work, hospital, 
and other necessary items. Additional amounts should be includ- 
ed for such purposes. 

5. REVENUES. 

Three recommendations are made pertaining to revenues : 

First, the income derived from the production taxes on oil and 
minerals should be invested in a State building program. In such 
a program other State institutions besides those for higher educa- 
tion should be included. To expend this income in a way other 
than in a permanent investment seems very miAvise. 

Second, At least a part of the money for higher education should 
be provided by means of a mileage tax. Such a tax provides a 



HIGHER EDUCATION 191 

I 

~ definite amount which can form the basis of planning. 

^ Third, The income from the various Federal land grants should 

be made available to the institutions concerned without appropri- 
ation by the State legislature. These grants are for specific pur- 
poses. To include them in the appropriation bills can serve no 
good end and it makes it appear that these moneys are raised by 
taxation. 

Additional data concerning the State institutions will be found 
in Tables 21-22-23 and 24. 



192 



PUBI^IC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



TABLE 21.— RESIDENT STUDENTS DISTRIBUTED ACCORDING TO 
RESIDENCE. (COLLEGE STUDENTS ONLY). 







LOCATION 


OP INSTITUTION 




Counties 






























and 
States 


a 

a 

u 

o 




02 

a 
O 


c 
o 

•4-1 

u 
1 


£ 


-a 
< 


> 
< 


4-> 

c 
2 

3 

Q 


-a 
c 
o 
g 


3 

c 

A 


O 

u 

4) 


c 
o 

ID 

to 

c 
cd 


a! 

o 
o 




"5 

■i-> 
o 


Counties 




























in Okla. 






























Adair 


6 


2 
















40 






.... 


48 


Altalfa 


40 


28 


1 









21 














90 


Atoka 


8 














26 












34 


Beaver 


9 


4 











4 












1 


18 


Beckham 


27 


16 






.... 








2 




3 


.... 


.,... 


48 


Blaine 


40 


21 


5 








9 




6 




2 


2 




85 


Bryan 


20 


4 







...- 






246 




1 




.... 


.... 


■ 271 


Caddo 


45 


24 


20 












16 




20 






125 


Canadian 


48 


17 


7 




.... 








24 




2 


1 




99 


Carter 


64 


15 


1 




.... 






31 


14 






5 


.... 


130 


Cherokee 


14 


















69 








83 


Choctaw 


20 


9 


10 










30 


1 






.... 


.... 


71 


Cimarron 


1 












4 










.... 


2 


7 


Cleveland 


^55 


4 


2 




.... 










5 




1 




.... 


767 


Coal 


15 


2 






.... 


13 




10 








.... 




40 


Comanche 


46 


12 


15 












5 




3 






81 


Gotton 


28 


6 


1 




2 






1 


2 




4 






44 


Craig 


16 


10 






4 










40 




1 


.... 


71 


Creek 


66 


34 


6 




.... 








6 


30 


1 


2 


.... 


145 


Custer 


22 


34 


6 




.... 









3 




128 


.... 


.... 


193 


Delaware 


9 


2 
















32 








43 


Dewey 


8 


4 











5 




2 




6 







25 


Ellis 


7 


5 






.... 




11 




1 






.... 


.... 


24 


Garfield 


52 


79 


4 




.... 




11 





5 






.... 




151 


Garvin 


54 


9 


10 




2 


11 







13 






.... 


.... 


99 


Grady 


58 


40 


129 













15 




1 






243 


Grant 


24 


28 


1 




.... 




3 




6 






.... 


..... 


62 


Greer 


2'9 


22 


11 




-... 








6 




11 


.... 


.... 


79 


Harmon 


10 


7 


6 




.... 








1 




6 


.... 


..— 


30 


Harper 


4 


1 






.... 




6 










.... 




11 


Haskell 


.13 


4 


2 












2 


30 








51 


Hughes 


24 


13 


1 




-... 


21 






1 






..-- 





60 


Jackson 


38 


16 


7 




.... 








7 




5 




••-■ 


73 


Jefferson 


10 


10 


7 




.... 






2 


3 




-...- 


.... 


.... 


32 


Johnston 


10 


7 


2 




.... 


12 




17 


4 






.... 


.... 


52 


Kay 


69 


21 


6 








1 


1 


15 










113 


Kingfisher 


20 


22 


6 




.... 








9 




1 







61 


Kiowa 


48 


15 


13 




.... 








8 




13 


.... 





97 


Latimer 


9 






6 








12 










.... 


27 


Le Flore 


20 


5 


3 


.... 


.... 






22 


2 


2 






.... 


54 



HIGHER EDUCATION 



193 



Counties 

and 
States 



r 



LOCATION OP INSTITUTION 



c 

s 

o 






02 



d 

m 

a 
X 
o 

A 

U 



ni 
< 






C 

03 

3 

Q 





£ 




oi 


-a 


3 


c 


C 


o 


0/ 


S 


2 


-s 


ce 


W 


h 



o 



a; 

X! 






c 
o 

m 
in 

c 



Counties 




























in Okla. 






























Lincoln 


28 


45 


5 


.... 










28 




5 


8 




119 


Logan 


46 


25 


1 


.... 


.... 








21 






18 




111 


Love 


13 




1 


.... 


.... 






9 


4 










27 


Major 


6 


12 




a... 


.... 




12 








1 






31 


Marshall 


9 


2 


3 


.... 


.... 






32 








.... 


.... 


46 


Mayes 


6 


6 














3 


35 








50 


McClain 


44 


7 




.... 




4 






6 










61 


McCurtain 


19 


11 


2 


.... 


.... 








1 










33 


Mcintosh 


19 


4 




.... 


.... 






18 




10 




5 




56 


Murray 


12 


5 


5 


.... 


.... 


6 












.... 


.... 


28 


Muskogee 


86 


22 


8 










1 




115 




5 




237 


Noble 


15 


20 


2 


.... 


.... 


















37 


Nowata 


13 


13 


2 




1 








1 


13 




4 




47 


Okfuskee 


30 


7 


1 


.... 


.... 


3 






12 






2 




55 


Oklahoma 


394 


47 


11 


.... 


.... 




3 


1 


173 


2 




8 


.... 


639 


Okmulgee 


66 


10 


2 


1 


2 


5 








5 




17 




108 


Osage 


40 


5 


3 


.... 


— .- 









3 


12 




1 


.... 


64 


Ottawa 


12 


9 


2 


.... 


77 






1 




74 








175 


Pawnee 


17 


26 


1 


.... 











3 


2 








49 


Payne 


19 


394 




.... 








1 


11 






2 


.... 


427 


Pittsburg 


60 


10 


6 










18 


7 


1 




4 




106 


Pontotoc 


13 


6 


1 


.... 


.... 


189 




1 


1 


1 








212 


Pottawatomie 


5,3 


28 


2 


.... 


.... 


18 






12 


1 




2 


.... 


116 


Pushmataha 


4 


1 












23 












28 


Roger Mills 


10 


3 


1 


«... 


.... 








1 





8 


.... 


.... 


23 


Rogers 


17 


14 


3 












7 


27 








68 


Seminole 


9 


5 


4 


... 


.... 


26 






1 






2 


.... 


47 


Sequoyah 


5 


2 


• ••■ 


_ 


.... 






2 


1 


34 







.. 


44 


Stephens 


51 


20 


21 


• --. 


.... 






5 


17 






.... 


.... 


114 


Texas 


7 


2 




.... 


.... 




2 










.... 


25 


36 


Tillman 


29 


8 


1 












16 




5 






59 


Tulsa 


151 


36 


3 


.... 


.... 




1 




9 


26 




1 




227 


Wagoner 


20 


4 


1 


.... 


.... 








1 


7 




5 


... 


38 


Washington 


29 


11 


1 


... 










7 


25 








73 


Washita 


18 


4 


2i 
















29 






53 


Woods 


19 


6 




.... 


.... 




176 












.... 


201 


Woodward 


9 


18 


2 




1 




23 




1 










54 


Counties not 






























specified 









.... 


.... 


18 












.... 


10 


28 


Total from 






























Oklahoma 


3204 


1400 


379 


8 


89 


326 


292 


510 


531 


634 


255 


98 


38 


7764 



•■<. s. 



194 



PU}3LIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 





LOCATION OF INSTITUTION 


Counties 




%^ 


cS 


c 












J2 


o 








and 




0) 


s 


o 












rt 




c 


^ 






a 


•*-> 


w 


■u 










'O 


3 




o 


<v 




States 


S 

u 


d 

^ 




3 


of 


ci 


C!3 


a 

C3 


o 

S 


2 




c 


o 


73 




o 




O 


^, 


i 




< 


3 

Q 




si 


c3 
1-5 


o 



o 



Other States 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Colorado 

California 

Dist. of Col. 

Georgia 

Idaho 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky 

Louisiana 

Massachusetts 

Michigan 

Minnesota 
Mississippi 
Missouri 
Montana 

Nebraska 

New Jersey 
New Mexico 
New York 
N. Carolina 
Ohio 

Oregon 

S. Carolina 

South Dakota 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 
Washington 
Wisconsin 
Wyoming 
States not 
specified 
Total from 
other States 

Fo'n countries 

Grand Total 



3 

26 
1 

1 

2 

6 

2 
2 

27 

2 

2 

1 

2 

3 

20 

1 
1 

3 
4 
3 

1 

1 

1 

67 

1 
2 

185 

9 

3398 


19 
4 

1 

4 

1 
1 

10 
1 
4 

1 

5 

1 

4 
22 

78 

6 

1484 


1 

1 

1 
1 

4 

8 
387 


1 

1 
9 


1 

1 

4 
93 


7 

7 
333 


1 

6 

7 
299 


22 
1 





1 
3 

18 

45 
555 


4 
2 

2 

5 

2 

1 

1 
10 

1 
1 

29 
560 


26 



4 
5 

1 

1 
16 

1 
1 

1 

56 
690 


i 

1 

4 

6 
261 










1 



3 

4 
102 


.... 


— 

7 

.... 

1 

8 

46 



3 

100 
9 
2 

1 

2 
2 
11 
3 
4 

56 
8 
6 
2 

2 

3 
5 
46 
1 
1 

3 
5 
3 

1 
1 

1 
1 
1 
5 
143 

1 
2 
2 
1 

1 

438 
15 

8217 



HIGHER EDUCATION 



195 



Q 
W 

fa 
O 

u 

H 

O 
W 
P 

Q 
<J 

O 

>^ 



fa 
o 

M 



H 
Eh 



N 
N 






o 

<3J 






o 

CO 



*saa.iS9pl 

9JB8jnB[B00Be: 



(35 ira t> 

M M r-l 



; o lo U5 CO in «o 

; CQ »H i-H T-l 



eo 

CO 






aiBnp-BJO 



C<1 



ajBaari'BiBOO'Ba; 



saj-Bogiijao ajij 
puB SBinoidia 



saajSap 
ajBnpBjf) 



*saajSap 
aiBaan-BiBODBe: 



00 
CO 


CO 

00 




C<) 


; «o 




CO 


Oi 


M 


CO 


■ • 


CO 




T-i 


«o 

CO 




: CO 




o 


CO 
I-l 


oo 


00 


t- : 

CO : 


eo 
CO 



sa:jBOijijJ90 9JII 
puB sBinoidra 



saajSap 
ajBnpBj^) 



*saajSap 
a^BajnBiBDOBa 



sajBoynaao ajji ^ 

pUB SBUIOldlQ '"' 



ou5;::::!:::::!io 

I 

mt-iMio : : ; ; ; : ;t}< :co 
t-oo ;:::::: ;t- 



: ,H U5 00 t- t- 00 CO 


a> 


; cc CO CO o M •* cq ; 


Oi 


N 


"*i 



■*:::;:!::!::: 


•^ 


cq ; 


: isi :: •.•:::■ : 


t~ 


t- 




t- 



', ', : T}< cvi th 00 th ir; : : 



C 
o 

'■>-> 

ci 
o 
o 



a 

.2 

v» 

>" 5 
o .ti 

c 



_, I' 

u S 
o 






u 
o 



to & 

c o 



3 0) 

.C 4) 



196 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



TABLE 22. — RESIDENT ENROLLMENTS IN FIRST SEMESTER OF 
1915-16, 1921-22, AND NOVEMBER 1922. 



Locations 
of ' 

Institutions 



Norman 

Stillwater ... 
Chickasha ... 
Wilburton ... 

Miami 

Ada 

Alva 

Durant 

Edmond 

Tahlequah ... 
Weatherford 

Langston 

Goodwell ...„ 



Total 2,350 



High School 
Students 



1915-16 1921-22 1922-23 



363 
280 



209 
169 
229 
561 

206 

142t 

191 



443 
198 

72 
215 
194 
227 
313 

149 
226 
314 



2.351 



312 
146 

14 
333 
238 
193 
322 
258 
169 
229 
279 



2,493 



Students above high 
school grade 



1915-16 1921-22 1922-23 



1,104 
641 

80 
5 



154 
121 
120 
417 



85 
33*t 



2.760 



3,013 
1,100 
322 
205 
55 
321 
215 
447 
352 



223 

112 

29 



6.394 



1,539 
388 
198 

93 
460 
299 
556 
567 
197 
261 
115 

44 



4.717 



♦Not complete. Records lost. 
tFigures are for 1916-17. 



TABLE 24.— DISTRIBUTION OF CLASSES OF COLLEGE GRADE 
ACCORDING TO ENROLLMENT. 



Location of 


Enrollments in classes 


Institutions 


1-5 


6-10 

54 
44 

8 

I 

13 

1 
11 
17 
13 

4 

6 


11-20 


21-30 


31-40 


41-50 


51-60 


61-ro 


Over 70 


Norman 

Stillwater .... 
Chickasha .... 
Wilburton 
Miami 


75 
63 

23 

5 

7 
14 

4 
26 
14 

7 

5 
17 


103 
79 

4 
6 

14 
9 

12 

16 
9 

18 
7 
5 


101 
39 

4 
2 
8 
6 
10 
14 
6 
6 
4 
1 


101 
48 

2 
6 

5 
4 
17 
4 
6 
4 


53 
32 

1 
8 
5 
5 
12 
1 
3 
4 


21 
16 

1 
4 
2 
1 

8 

2 
2 


10 
12 

3 

5 
3 


26 

25 


Ada 

Alva 

Durant 

Edmond 

Tahlequah .... 
Weatherford 

Langston 

Goodwell .... 


3 

2 

5 

10 

"i 


Total 


260 


186 


282 


201 


197 


124 


57 


33 


72 



CHAPTER VII. 
THE RURAL SCHOOLS. 

INTRODUCTION. 

According to the Census differentation between rural and urban 
approximately 75 per cent of Oklahoma's population is classed as 
rural. The problem of developing adequate educational facilities 
for the rural population is an important one in any State It is 
especially important in a State like Oklahoma in which there are 
few cities and so large a proportion of the people live on farms 
or in small towns and villages. Its significance is accentuated 
in Oklahoma by the pioneer conditions that still obtain in a large 
share of the farming communities, due to the fact that the farms 
in many sections of the State have been under cultivation a rel- 
atively short time, and to the great variations in wealth and tax- 
able property that is available for the support of schools in different 
parts of the State. As a result many of the farmers are not as 
yet well established. They still feel the shortage of funds likely 
to characterize all young farming communities. There is also 
to be found a marked percentage of transients among the farmers. 
Their periods of residence in a community is so brief that they are 
not likely to become deeply interested in such institutions as the 
school. 

These conditions make it a matter of special importance that 
the State of Oklahoma give careful consideration to its rural schools 
in the formulation of an educational program. There should be recog- 
nition of the fact that children in the country districts are en- 
titled to educational opportunities equal to those offered chil- 
dren in the city. 

Concretely this will manifest itself in such things as the fol- 
lowing: as long a school term, as well trained teachers, as good 
buildings and equipment, in the country as in the city. The child 
reared in the country should not be handicapped as a result of at- 
tendance on inadequate schools if he decides to engage in the 
professions or industrial vocations. Those who decide to cast their 
lot with the country school should have obtained in their school life a 

197 



198 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

broad preparation for the community, State, and national responsi- 
bilities, and some specific training for their responsibilities on the 
farm and in the farm home. 

No democratic State can afford permanently to maintain a lower 
standard of educational opportunity for its rural population than 
is established for its urban citizenry, least of all a State that is 
so largely rural as is Oklahoma. There is little question that in 
important respects the school facilities of the rural portions of the 
State are on the average below those of the cities. The State can- 
not hope to remedy this situation unless it is willing to recognize the 
obstacles that rural communities in general have to face in develop- 
ing schools, and to assist them from State funds ; to set up an edu- 
cational organization adequate to meet the present day educational 
demands, and entirely free from the influence of partisan politics; 
and finally, to establish as high standards for teaching service in 
country schools as obtain in other schools of the State. 

The members of the staff assigned to investigate rural school 
conditions visited schools in 25 counties, selected with the advice 
and assistance of members of the State department and the secretary 
of the Survey Commission. They were chosen because they were 
believed to be representative of all sections and of all varying condi- 
tions to be found in the State. So far as possible schools selected 
by county superintendents as typical of the different types of schools 
found in counties and communities typical of general conditions of 
living were visited. Conferences and discussions were held at 
frequent intervals ; State and local officials were consulted for advice 
and information ; data and literature on educational conditions were 
studied as carefully as possible. It is believed, therefore, that the 
conditions are as set forth, and that the recommendations offered 
are based on sound educational principles and knowledge of the 
needs of the people of the State. (See Fig. 17). 



THE RURAL SCHOOLS 



199 






g 



o 
u 

w 

o 
o 

W 

§^ 

^ 02 

o 



CO 

m 



I... 



M 

P 
H 
H 

02 

a 
i-i 

o 



X 

o 

Eh 



200 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

ADMINISTRATION OF RURAL SCHOOLS. 

The State constitution charges the legislature with the duty 
of providing a State system of free schools for the education of the 
children of the State, A system of schools pre-supp'oses equal at- 
tention to the educational welfare of all children in it without re- 
gard to the particular section in which they live. Unless this is 
true there is no real system. 

If, for example, a citizen contemplating moving into a city — 
as Tulsa or Oklahoma City — ^in appraising its desirability as a 
residence wishes to consider the efficiency of its school system, 
it is not essential to make a study of schools in the different sections 
of the city. One naturally supposes that in whatever seel ion 
he choose a residence he will find approximately equivalent school 
advantages for his children. It would be quite exceptional if not 
unparalleled to find different standards as to quality of instruction ; 
length of term; salary of teachers; courses of study, and the like, in 
different sections of the same city. In other words, the idea of a 
system contemplates in itself attainment of certain standards of 
equal, or approximately equal, effectiveness in all its parts. 

In a similar manner we have a right to expect that a State sys- 
tem, when one exists, sets up certain minimum standards which as- 
sure reasonable effectiveness of school facilities to all children 
within its borders, regardless of any accident of location, and that 
it provides for and insists on their maintenance. Reasonable stand- 
ards for a modern State system offering equivalent educational * 
opportunity for all children may be expected to include a nine- 
months term, qualified teachers, buildings insuring the health and 
safety of children, adequate equipment, and the like, all judged in 
the light of modern school conditions and school practice. 

DISTRICT SYSTEM. 

What Oklahoma really has done is to establish, not a State 
system, but a large number of small systems called districts, each one 
practically a law unto itself and left by the State to shift for itself 
both as to support and educational standards. The district may in- 
clude rich lands, railroads, oil fields, or corporation property and, 
therefore, be able to provide liberally, even extravagantly for school 
buildings, pay ample salaries, and provide for all the requisites of 
a modern school system, with a reasonable — sometimes even a very 
low — tax levy. Or, on the other hand, a district may be poor in 



THE RURAL SCHOOLS 201 

tax resources but rich in children, and even with a maximum tax 
levy unable to support even reasonably good schools. 

Inconsistencies and injustices due to the unequal opportunity 
furnished by the different districts are common throughout the 
State. In one county, for example, high school privileges were de- 
nied to more than half those eligible because the district from which 
the children came Avas too poor even with a maximum levy to raise 
money enough to pay their tuition in nearby districts maintaining 
high schools. On the other hand, counties visited were found rich 
enough and progressive enough to have an accredited high school 
within six miles of every child in the county. In practically every 
county in the State there are districts side by side, often including 
children living on adjoining farms but in different districts, in one 
family of which the children may attend school nine months in com- 
fortable modern buildings with adequate equipment, qualified teach- 
ers, and a four-year high school ; while the children of the neighbor- 
ing family in the adjoining district attend school in poor buildings, 
for a short term, to a teacher with little education beyond that which 
the children themselves have, and with no opportunity for education 
beyond the grades unless their parents can afford to pay for it away 
from home. Examples of this kind could be multiplied. In a 
number of counties visited there are districts in which the valuation 
is so low that it is impossible to raise more than a few hundred dol- 
lars for the support of the school even with the maximum levy. 

Table 25 sets forth certain differences among districts which are 
detrimental to rural schools. Grade of certificate held is one way 
of judging educational qualifications of teachers. The table shows 
that all teachers in independent districts have first grade certifi- 
cates — the highest kind issued. The percentage decreases, with the 
lowest proportion in the ungraded rural schools. The number of 
third grade or lowest grade certificate is lowest in independent dis- 
tricts and increases, reaching the highest proportion in ungraded 
rural districts. The table shows, also, proportionate decreases in 
average annual salaries, tax levies and other items as among classes 
of districts, the rural ungraded districts having the most unfavorable 
• conditions in all cases. 



202 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



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THE RURAL SCHOOLS 203 

Inadequacy of the district system is not confined to any single 
feature but is evident in every phase of educational endeavor. In- 
stead of assuring a high class personnel with administrators, super- 
visors and teachers ; economical business management, and effective 
results, it puts a premium on inefficiency all along the line. From 
the gross inequalities which it brings about rural children suffer 
most. This is true in all States in which it exists, but, owing to 
varying industrial conditions in Oklahoma, to the abundance of nat- 
ural resources in some parts of the State and lack of them in others, 
the inequalities in taxable property and in the resulting educational 
opportunities are more marked than in many other States, Oklahoma 
has especial need for making a supreme effort for equalizing educa- 
tional opportunity among the children. 

COUNTY SCHOOL SYSTEM. 

While the district school trustees are responsible for the em- 
ployment of teachers, the type of building furnished, the course of 
study, and the general quality of the school, there is in each county 
a county superintendent who has general supervision over all but 
independent districts, and who has certain administrative and ad- 
visory duties as set forth in the statutes and assigned by common 
practice. 

The county superintendents in Oklahoma are elected at large 
on a regular party ticket at the general election, for a term of 
two years, with salaries ranging from $1,200 to $3,000. No qualifi- 
<;ations are exacted from candidates for the positions except the 
possession of a first grade county certificate. This certificate is 
easily obtained and requires little academic and no professional 
preparation. 

The elective system for selecting superintendents is a pernicious 
one. So long as it exists there is every reason to except that the 
management of the schools will be involved in party politics and 
will suffer all the evils attendant on such a situation. Practical 
educators with professional preparation and successful experience 
will not seek positions as superintendents. If, by accident, a capable 
man or woman is elected to the office, he cannot devote himself 
wholeheartedly to educational work without danger of defeat at 
the next election. He must spend much of the time needed for 
educational work in repairing his policital fences. This is in- 
evitable under the elective system. That Oklahoma superintendents 
.are no exception to the rule in this respect was evident to the 



204 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

survey staff visiting schools on the eve of a general election. Politics 
was often of greater concern to superintendents than their edu- 
cational duties, though the time was early fall when the work of 
getting schools started was in its most important stage. 

TABLE 26— SALARIES PAID TO OKLAHOMA COUNTY 

SUPERINTENDENTS. 

Salaries No. Supts. 

Receiving 

$1,200 1 

$1,300 1 

$1,400 3 

$1,500 _ 5 

$1,600 6 

$1,700 _ _ 9 

$1,800 20 

$1,900 7 

$2,000 7 

$2,100- 7 

$2,200 5 

$2,300 : „ 

$2,400 „ „ _ 

$2,500 _ „ 

$2,600 

$2,700 - „._ „ „ 

$2,800 _...„ 

$2,900 __ „..„ „ 

$3,000 -. 6 

$3,100 

$3,200 



Total 77 

Salaries 
In Groups 

$1,200-1,500 8 

$1,500-1,800 32 

$1,800-2,300 31 

3,000 6 

Median salary $1,500-1,800 

Average years' service by the county Superinten- 
dents now serving „ 3.7 



THE RURAL SCHOOLS 205 

The method of selection is not the only serious obstacle to 
securing efficient and permanent superintendents, the salaries paid 
these officers are entirely inadequate, in many instances below that 
of teachers, principals and district superintendents working under 
their direction (See table 26). 

The average term of the county superintendents now serving, 
provided all of them complete the term for which they were elected 
in 1921, and which ends July, 1923, is 3.7 years. This average is 
raised by the occasional few among the group who have served 
long periods; in one or two cases as much as 12 years. Many 
serve only two years, relatively few four or six. The average 
biennial turnover for the past ten years is approximately 50 per 
cent. Information gathered in November before the election re- 
turns were announced show 49 of the 79 superintendents are candi- 
dates for reelection. If all these are elected the turnover will be 
approximately 37 per cent. 

LONGER TERM OF OFFICE ESSENTIAL. 

Neither the assured tenure of two years nor the average term 
of Sy2 years is long enough to make it possible to formulate and 
carry out plans for improving the county system extending over a 
period of years. For this reason building programs, salary 
schedules, reorganization projects and other progressive measures, 
so frequently found in city systems, are practically unknown in 
rural systems. Continuous leadership is impossible when county 
superintendents, from whom it should be expected, are subjected 
to the probability of a change at the close of each two year term. 
Each successive election finds many capable superintendents dropp- 
ing out of the race, some because of the disagreeable necessity of 
a political campaign with issues entirely foreign to educational 
considerations, some because of Ioav salaries and others because of 
failure of renomination or reelection. 

The few superintendents who are reelected for three or more 
successive terms are able to accomplish more than those with short 
terms; yet they, too, are seriously handicapped by lack of admini- 
strative authority, time, and facilities to put educational policies in 
operation. The selection and placing of teachers is a case in point. 
The county superintendent should be responsible for the quality of 
instruction given in schools; that is his most important function. 
Yet with no authority to select or place teachers in positions in 
which they are best fitted to render good service he is handicapped in 



206 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

doing this from the beginning. Add to this the fact that only three 
of 58 superintendents reporting to the Bureau had time to make two 
visits a year to each school because of the extent of territory to be 
covered, and one realizes the impossibility of expecting county 
superintendents to be of any but nominal assistance to teachers in 
organizing schools and teaching children so long as present con- 
ditions continue. 

The county superintendent is equally impotent in the admini- 
stration of other educational policies the enumeration of which space 
forbids. 

The county superintendency is one of the most important 
positions in the whole school system. The educational welfare of 
thousands of rural children in Oklahoma is dependent upon the 
efficiency of the 77 county superintendents selected to administer 
and supervise the rural schools. There is every reason to believe 
that the people of the State believe in educating their children and 
are willing to spend their money liberally to this end. 

At present they are not spending money for schools wisely and 
economically. If they wish to receive the utmost in educational 
value for the money expended the best means to that end is to set 
up administrative machinery which will provide for real systems of 
rural schools, large enough in valuation, territory, and scholastic 
population to make efficiency possible and then place a professional 
educator in charge. 

This officer should be selected with at least as much care as 
city superintendents are now selected and in a similar way. Selec- 
tion should be on the basis of educational preparation, successful 
experience, and special fitness for the position in which the superin- 
tendent is to serve. Both men and women should be eligible and 
the selecting board should search the State and other States, if 
necessary, to secure the best possible person. Definite qualifications 
should be exacted in the certification law, and should include grad- 
uate courses and successful experience in administration and super- 
vision. The salary should be such as will secure and retain the best 
qualified persons available, and the term should be during good 
service. Provision for an adequate staff of professional and clerical 
assistants, for suitable office accommodations, and for travel ex- 
penses should be made. 

The administrative and supervisory staff with salaries in a 
county of 100 teachers should be approximately as follows : 



THE RURAL SCHOOLS 207 

Officer Salary 

The county superintendent $ 4,000 

1 secretary to county superintendent 1,500 

1 clerk „ 1,000 

3 professional supervisory assistants at 

$2,400 each 7,200 

Travel expense fund 2,000 

Total $15,700 

THE RURAL SCHOOLS AND THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF 

EDUCATION. 

The county superintendents of schools look to the State depart- 
ment for direction and ^idance in their administrative responsibili- 
ties, for leadership in the accomplishment of new and progressive 
ideals in educational organization and practice, and for direct as- 
sistance in carrying on their work among the people of their com- 
munity and in the schools. The States which are making the great- 
est progress in promoting efficiency of schools for country children 
at the present time owe much of their accomplishment to strong 
educational leadership from the State department of education. 

Oklahoma has made splendid advancement during the past ten 
years. In promoting centralization of small schools; in the move- 
ment for better school plants and equipment; in increasing general 
school spirit among the people; and in promoting progressive leg- 
islation, the State department, in spite of its pitifully meagre sup- 
port, has accomplished substantial results. While the educational 
needs of the State have been growing and while other State de- 
partments have been increasing in number and salary of personnel 
and in corresponding responsibilities assumed, Oklahoma has re- 
mained stationary. If present and future needs are adequately 
met fundamental changes in the size of the staff and in the functions 
of the department must be made or Oklahoma will fall still lower 
in rank among the States of the Union in educational achievement. 

Table 27 shows the staff as at present constituted, one of the 
smallest among the States and one of those in which lowest salaries 
are paid. (See Chapter V). One supervisor of rural schools is 
quite inadequate for a State of the size of Oklahoma and with 
as large a rural population. 



208 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

TABLE 27. 

Department of Education and State Board of Education 
Officials and Salaries. 

State Superintendent $2,500 

Asst. State Superintendent 2,100 

Chief Clerk 2,000 

Record Clerk 1 ,500 

Agricultural Assistant in State Department 1,500 

Chief High School Inspector 2,400 

Two assistant Inspectors 1,800 each 

1 Stenographer 1,500 

1 Stenographer 1,200 

Total $16,500 

State Board of Education: 

1 Secretary of State Board $2,100 

1 Stenographer 1,200 

General Education Board: 

1 Supervisor of rural schools, salary and 

expenses $9,324 

The addition of a rural school division or bureau to the State 
department of education is one of the immediate needs which the 
legislature should fill at an early date. There should be a staff 
of at least four State supervisors of rural schools, one director 
and three assistants, of whom, one should be assigned to assist 
county superintendents and rural people in the special problems 
of centralization of schools, one to special problems of administration 
and supervision; and one to assist in the purchase and selection 
of sites and the building and equipment of schools. The super- 
visors of rural schools should be men or women highly qualified by 
preparation and experience to be leaders among the educators of 
the State and to represent the State department of education among 
the rural communities. 

ATTENDANCE. 

Oklahoma has a total scholastic population of 647,083 white 
children ; of these 46 per cent are in districts classified as ungraded 
rural; 15 per cent in districts classified as village, consolidated, 
and union graded ; and 39 per cent in independent districts, accord- 
ing to the latest data obtainable. All children classified as be- 



THE RURAL SCHOOLS 209 

longing in rural, union gi-aded, consolidated, and village schools, 
as well as many children classified as belonging in independent 
districts, are really rural children. They constitute between 65 
and 75 per cent of the entire scholastic population. 

Schools, however efficient, can educate only children who at- 
tend school at least with reasonable regularity. An examination 
of the enrollment and attendance data obtainable in the State at- 
tendance reports show conditions very unfavorable for rural chil- 
dren. While 46 per cent of all the children live in ungraded rural 
districts, only 42 per cent are enrolled in the schools of such dis- 
tricts ; on the other hand while 39 per cent of the total number of 
children live in independent districts, 43 per cent of the total num- 
ber enrolled are in independent district schools. 

Average daily attendance data are equally unfavorable. Of 
every 100 children in school on any one day, 49 are in independent 
district schools, 15 in village, consolidated, and union graded schools, 
and 36 in ungraded rural schools. 

Below is a comparison of enumeration, enrollment, and average 
attendance in independent and ungraded rural districts. 

Percentage of Total in State. 

Enumeration Enrollment Average Attendance 
Independent 38 41 49 

Ungraded rural 46 43 36 ' 

In every instance while the high percentage of children live 
in rural school districts, the percentage of enrollment compared 
with school population, and the percentage of attendance compared 
with enrollment, are lower for rural than for independent districts. 

If we consider districts as classified separately rather than as a 
whole we find similar results. Seventy (70) per cent of the enroll- 
ment in independent districts are in average daily attendance. 
Only 44 per cent of the enrollment in ungraded rural districts are 
in average daily attendance ; as shown in Table 28. 

Further study of school attendance in Oklahoma was made by 
the examination of teachers' registers in three counties showing 
the actual number of days attended by 2,352 children enrolled in 
rural schools ; the results are set forth in Table 29. 

The schools selected were the only ones from which data 
were obtainable. They are believed to be reasonably typical of 
average conditions. They are more nearly indicative of actual 



210 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



TABLE 28. 
School Attendance. 



Pupils 


Percentage 


Percentage 


Per cent of enroll. 


enrolled 


of total 


of total 




Districts per 


teacher 


enrollment 


No. teachers 
employed 


Present Absen 


Independent 










districts 


34 


41.6 


44. 


75 25 


Village 


40 


8.6 


7.9 


61 39 


Consolidated 


39 


5.5 


5.0 


59 41 


Union Graded 


35 


1.8 


2.0 


66 34 


Ungraded rural 


38 


42.5 


41.0 


55 45 


Total 


37 


100. 


100. 


64 36 



TABLE 29.— SHOWING ACTUAL NUMBER OF DAYS ATTENDED BY 
2,352 CHILDREN DURING SCHOOL YEAR, 1921-22. 



Days 


Percentage of children attending according to Percentage of 
class of school children at- 


at- 


1-teacher 2-teacher 3-teacher 4-teacher 7-teacher tending from 


tended 


White Colored all schools 



20 — 29 
30— 39 



23 



15 



33 



22 



14 



21 



35.7 



25 



44 



30 



15 



21 



31 



46 



36 



55 



45 



29 



34 



44 



54 



48 



64 



52 



35 



36 



51 



63 



65 



76 



57 



39 



41 



59 



75 



97 



87 



64 



48 



45 



71 



95 



99 



82 



67 



58 



87 



100 



100 



100 



100 



100 



100 



100 



THE RURAL SCHOOLS 211 

school attendance than are the averages given above. Averages 
are influenced by the few who attend regularly and the few who 
attend school very little, consequently, they are not representative of 
individual conditions. 

CHILDREN DO NOT ATTEND REGULARLY. 

Table 29 shows that 23 per cent of the total number of children 
enrolled in one-teacher schools attended during the year less than 
two months, 35 per cent less than three months, 46 per cent less than 
four months, 54 per cent less than five months, 63 per cent less 
than six months, 75 per cent less than seven months, and 95 per 
cent less than eight months. The record for two- and three-teacher 
schools is very little better. It appears from these satistics that 
in the small rural schools approximately half the children attend 
schools less than four months in the school year even though a 
longer term of school is offered. 

THE SCHOOL TERM. 

The standard term of length for schools in the United States 
is 9 months. The average in Oklahoma for all schools, rural and 
urban is* about seven months. In many counties and in many dis- 
tricts, however, the term is far shorter. Table 30 giving the school 
term for 5,020 districts show that 21 per cent of the total number of 
school districts have a term of 6 months or less and an appreciable 
number of districts maintain three, four, and five months schools. 

TABLE 30. 
School Term in Oklahoma, 1921-22. 



Months school 


No. 


of 


Percent 


Cumulative 


was in 


schools 




Percents 


session 










3 


23 




Less than 1 




4 


46 




Less than 1 


1 + 


5 


176 




3 


4 


6 


811 




16 


21 


7 


1274 




25 


46 


8 


2018 




40 


86 


9 


669 




13 


99 + 


10 


3 




Less than 1 





The divided term so common in the rural districts of the State 
is another significant influence in the consideration of school at- 



212 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

tendance and quality of school work. Reports from county super- 
intendents indicate that about 16 per cent of the rural schools have 
the divided school term. Observation in these schools shows that 
attendance is poor and school interest indifferent. The break 
in the middle of a short school term is discouraging to normal 
accomplishment. Children as a rule are slow to return when 
school opens up after a long vacation and slow to become interested 
again in their school tasks. 

In considering school attendance we must take account not 
only the number of days attended but the regularity. If a child 
comes to school one or two days and then is absent another one 
or two days he is unable to keep up with his schoolmates unless 
the teacher takes time from the other children to give him indi- 
vidual assistance. In one-teacher schools especially, irregular at- 
tendants fall behind their classes and soon drop out entirely, or fail 
to make their grade, and thus must enroll in a lower one. In 
either case the result is serious to the individual and to the school. 

Examination of registers in a number of schools in all the 
counties visited by members of the committee indicate a good 
deal of irregularity in attendance. In one school visited in which 
there were 125 children enrolled, only ten were present the day 
the visit was made. In another instance, 20 children were present 
of 75 enrolled. In another case, 15 were present out of an enroll- 
ment of 50. These are not exaggerated instances, but give some 
idea of indifference which many country people have for the 
education of their children. 

Short terms, irregular attendance, or a combination of these, 
result in very little school for a large number of children. The 
average city child attends school 9 months in the year and requires 
eight years to finish the elementary schools. The rural child who 
enrolls in school where the term is short, and who is absent a large 
percentage of that short term, requires not eight years but two 
or three times as many school years to finish the elementary grades. 
This explains why many country children become discouraged and 
leave school often before they have completed more than the 4th or 
5th grades. 

Oklahoma rural schools as a whole enroll a relatively small 
number of children in the upper grades and high schools. (See 
table 33). It is not possible to say to what extent this condition 
is due to short terms and irregular attendance but it is safe to 



THE RURAL SCHOOLS 



213 



say that a large amount •! it comes from this cause. Boys and 
girls who reach the age of 15 and 16 years, and must still attend 
school in classes with children several years younger, naturally 
have little ambition to complete either the grades or high school. 

AGE AND GRADE ENROLLMENT. 

Information concerning the age and grade in which enrollment 
of approximately 55,000 children in rural communities was gath- 
ered in the spring of 1922. In order to distinguish as definitely as 
possible between children living in the open country and those 
living in cities and towns in which conditions approximate those 
which prevail in cities, data were gathered in two groups, namely, 
for children living in places under 200 in population and for those 
living in places of over 200 populaton. The former are classed 
rural in this discussion. * 

•Applicable also to data on teachers and school buildings and grounds. 

The complete information from which the summary given in 
Tables 31 and 32 was collected shows the actual age and grade 
for each child. i 

TABLE 31.— AGE-GRADE ENROLLMENT IN OKLAHOMA. 
Wliite Boys and Girls in Places under 200 Population. 



Grades 


Total 
enrolled 


Per cent 
of total in 
each grade 


No. below 
normal 
grade 


Per cent 

below 

normal 

grade 


. No. of 
normal 
age 


Per cent 

of 

normal 

age 


No. above 

normal 

age 


Per cent 
above 


Kdgn 


2815 


5.1 


40 


1.4 


1711 


60.8 


1064 


37.8 


1 




9782 


17.8 


879 


8.9 


5765 


58.9 


3138 


32.2 


2 




6737 


12.3 


492 


7.3 


3400 


50.5 


2845 


42.2 


3 




7082 


12.9 


811 


11.5 


3109 


43.9 


3162 


44.6 


4 




6789 


12.4 


563 


8.3 


2733 


40.2 


3493 


51.5 


5 




6339 


11.5 


500 


7.9 


2390 


37.7 


3449 


54.4 


6 




5299 


9.6 


417 


7.8 


1996 


37.7 


2886 


54.5 


7 




4256 


7.8 


247 


5.8 


1622 


38.1 


2387 


56.1 


8 




4638 


8.4 


334 


7.2 


1708 


36.8 


2596 


56.0 


9 




739 


1.4 


53 


7.2 


312 


42.2 


374 


50.6 


10 




316 


.6 


22 


7.0 


150 


47.5 


144 


45.5 


11 




82 


.1 


14 


17.1 


38 


46.3 


30 


36.6 


12 




55 


.1 


21 


38.2 


18 


32.7 


16 


29.1 




Total 


54929 


100.0 


4393 


8.0 


24952 


45.4 


25584 


46.6 



214 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



TABLE a^.— AGE-GRADE ENROLLMENT IN OKLAHOMA. 
White Boys and Girls in Places of 200 Population and Over. 





ToUl 


Per cent No. below 


Per cent 


No. of Per cent 


No. above 


Per cent 


Grades 


enrolled 


of total In normal 


below 


normal of 


normal 


above 






each grade urade 


normal 
grade 


age normal 
age 


age 





Kdgn 


3961 


2.7 


657 


16.6 


2827 


71.4 


477 


12.0 


1 


20726 


14.2 


1196 


5.8 


15493 


74.7 


4037 


19.5 


2 


16080 


11.0 


1605 


10.0 


10250 


63.7 


4225 


26.3 


3 


15369 


10.5 


1640 


10.7 


9007 


58.6 


4722 


30.7 


4 


15034 


10.3 


1829 


12.2 


7915 


52.6 


5290 


35.2 


5 


13906 


9.5 


1603 


11.5 


7240 


52.1 


5063 


36.4 


6 


12921 


8.9 


1675 


12.9 


6547 


50.7 


4699 


36.4 


7 


11610 


8.0 


1726 


14.9 


5876 


50.6 


4008 


34.5 


8 


' 10421 


7.1 


1524 


14.6 


5480 


52.6 


3417 


32.8 


9 


10791 


7.4 


1604 


14.9 


5444 


50.5 


3743 


34.6 


10 


7232 


5.0 


1083 


15.0 


4037 


55.8 


2112 


29.2 


11 


4320 


3.0 


734 


17.0 


2471 


57.2 


1115 


25.8 


12 


3566 


2.4 


721 


20.1 


2129 


59.7 


716 


20.2 



Total 



145937 100.0 17597 



12.1 



84716 



58.0 



43624 



29.9 



The tables summarize this information as follows: Total 

number of children enrolled in each grade, percentage of those 
below or younger than normal age, percentage of normal age, and 
percentage above normal or too old for the grade in which enrolled. 
Total percentages for all grades are also given. 

Normal age is considered as that of the child who enters school 
at six years of age and makes one grade a year or normal progress. 
Thus, normal age for the first grade is six or seven years; for 
the second grade seven or eight years ; and so on, allowing a two 
years span for each grade. This is a liberal allowance especially 
as many children enter before they are six years old. The child 
Avho does not enter until he is six may fail any one year during his 
school life and still be considered of normal age. 

If the child who enters school at seven years of age and makes 
normal progress for one, two or more years, later falls behind, 
either from continued absence or inability to complete the work 
of one grade and must, therefore, repeat it the following year, he 
is one year above normal age. If he falls two years behind he 
is one year above normal age, and so on. If a child is particularly 
bright and makes more than one grade a year he is counted on the 
table as below the normal age or young for his grade. 

Table 33 is a related table showing how many children are en- 
rolled in each of the upper grades for every 100 children in the 
first grade. It does not take into consideration some rural children 
transferred to city and village schools. This subject is discussed 



THE RURAL SCHOOLS 215 

« 

later in connection with rural secondary schools. It is an added 
indication of the difficulty rural children have in completing upper 
elementary and high school grades. 

TABLE 33. 

Number of children in each grade, based on 100 in the first grade, 

in Oklahoma. 

Number of children in Number of children in 
Grade places of under 200 places of over 200 





population 


population 


1 


100. 


100. 


2 


68.8 


77.5 


3 


72.4 


74.1 


4 


69.4 


72.5 


5 


64.8 


67. 


6 


54.1 


62.3 


7 


43.5 


56. 


8 


47.4 


512 


9 


7.5 


52. 


10 


3.2 


34.8 


11 


.8 


20.8 


12 


.5 


17.2 



The most significant figures in the table are those showing 
the percentage above normal or too old for their grade. Begin- 
ning with the primary and first grade classes the percentage is 
38 and 32 respectively; the percentage increases throughout the 
elementary school. Beyond the fourth grade more than half the 
children are older than they should be for the grade in which 
they are enrolled. If we compare these data with similar data 
for children in cities we find Table 33 much higher percentage of 
over-age than in city schools. (See Table 33). 

The causes are numerous: Poor school buildings, indifferent 
teaching, courses of study that do not appeal to children as having 
practical value all lead to lack of interest on the part of children. 
Irregularity of attendance also leads to high percentage rate of over- 
age children. This may be due to indifference or to the necessity 
of children working on the farms. 

Short terms are a contributing factor since it is necessary 
for even an exceptionally bright child to spend two or three years 
of three months each, doing the work ordinarily accomplished in 



216 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

one term of nine months. The high percentage of over-age chil- 
dren also indicates that the compulsory attendance law is not en- 
forced. 

Experience shows that the results of conditions, such as shown 
in the table, are serious, that children are constantly dropping out 
from school at the end of the early elementary grades, many not 
even going beyond the 4tli or 5th grades. Boys and girls who 
reach the age of 14 or 15 are not interested in classes if they must 
associate with children much younger than they. They leave school, 
therefore, with education very little above the illiteracy stage. Im- 
proved standards, better teachers, enforcement of the compulsory 
education law are all important factors, 

BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS. 

The quality of the school system is determined to some extent 
by the character of the school site and building. These may limit 
or promote the health, safety, comfort, convenience, and happiness 
of the children while at school. The equipment and general ar- 
rangement both inside and outside condition somewhat the quality 
of the instruction given. 

Members of the Survey staff visited approximately 1,000 rural 
school buildings, in 40 different counties, representing all types 
of buildings, all localities, and all financial and industrial condi- 
tions of the State. In addition, data were collected from 58 
county superintendents through questionnaires concerning school 
buildings in their respective counties, their surroundings, and equip- 
ment. 

Naturally the wide variety in financial ability among districts 
as well as in effort and school interest is reflected in the kind of 
buildings, their equipment and upkeep. While buildings are poor 
in some localities the general impression made by observing the 
State as a whole is that there is a real interest on the part of the 
rural people in their schools and that reasonably generous provision 
has been made by them according to their wealth. 

There is a noticeable lack of expert guidance and direction 
that results in the erection of buildings without due regard to 
the simplest sanitary requirements. Even new buildings in the 
process of completion show disregard for the health of children and 
their educational needs as well. Often no additional cost is involv- 
ed when a building is in process of erection for compliance with 
necessary regulations if they were known in time. 



THE RURAL SCHOOLS 217 

Certain conditions concerning water supply, toilets, lighting, and 
seating arrangements, in approximately 4,000 schools as summar- 
ized from replies to the Bureau questionnaire returned by 58 county 
superintnedents are shown in Table 34. Similar conditions existed 
in the schools observed by members of the survey staff. 

TABLE 34. 

Summary of Conditions of Building-s and Grounds of 3,978 White 

Rural Schools in Oklahoma. 

Per cent 

Per cent of rural schools which are one-teacher 68.2 

two-teacher 19.4 

centralized 5.5 

Schools having grounds surrounded by fence 27.9 

Schools having grounds of two acres or larger 25.3 

Schools having a well or underground cistern on the grounds 73.5 

a. Those with cement platform and pump 50.5 

Schools having fountain or other sanitary arrangement for 

drinking water _ 33.1 

Schools having wash basin, soap, and towel provided 30.7 

Schools having cloakrooms (separate from classroom) 40.4 

Schools having no toilets or only one 3.1 

Schools having two toilets 91.2 

a. Having two toilets of any sanitary type 9.5 

Schools having jacketed stove in usable condition 28.5 

Schools having windows on one side of room only 14.3 

Schools fully equipped with single patent desks 28.3 

Schools having satisfactory teacher's desks 77.7 

Schools having blackboards in good condition 61.7 

Schools having a good wall map of the United States 56.5 

Schools having a supply of books for supplemental reading (at 

least 25) 48.0 

Poor lighting is very general, e. g., only 14 per cent of schools 
reported have unilateral lighting. Insufficient lighting is also com- 
mon. There are few sanitary toilets on rural school grounds, and 
many observed were not clean and well kept. Sometimes good 
wells may be in unhealthful condition because no seepage proof plat- 
forms are provided- Seats and desks are not adjusted to the size 
of children occupying them, and cloakrooms are not provided. These 
and various similar conditions are important considerations affecting 
the health and comfort of the children ; school equipment has much 



218 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

to do with the quality of the school work. General stimulation of 
interest in such problems among the people and intelligent direc- 
tion of school officers in charge of buildings are important to the 
general welfare of the schools and the children. 

The remedy for the present condition should be sought in 
better administrative practice. School boards and superintendents 
should seek advice from specialists in school buildings. The State 
department should be enlarged to furnish this service. The ques- 
tion is largely one of good management and business economy. 

RURAL TEACHERS. 

The members of the survey staff responsible for the study of 
rural school conditions based their judgment of the teaching staff 
on observation of several hundred teachers, nearly all of whom were 
at work, when observed, on information secured from the records 
and reports of the State department of education, and on replies to 
questionnaires sent directly to all the teachers in the State before 
the close of school in the spring of 1922. 

The members of the staff are agreed that in native ability, per- 
sonality, and professional spirit the rural teachers of Oklahoma are 
a promising group, interested in the schools and the children, and 
ready to take advantage of direction and guidance if it were fur- 
nished. They are generally immature, inexperienced, and with- 
out academic or professional preparation in any sense commensu- 
rate with the work they are trying to do. 

This judgment of the observers is confirmed by the data shown 
in Table 35 collected from the teachers. 

TABLE 35.— PREPARATION OF TEACHERS 

Before entering the public 
sciiools of Oklalioma 

Amount of schooling m places of In places of 

200 population less than 200 

and over population 

Number Per cent Number Per cent 

Number reporting 4751 1910 

Four years in high school 3022 63.6 855 44.7 

No normal training reported 2982 62.7 1445 75.6 

One year in normal school (above 4 year high 

school) 484 10.1 92^ 4.8 

Two years in normal (above 4 year high school) 402 8.4 32 1.6 

Three or four years in normal (above 4 year . 

high school) 105 2.2 9 .5 

No college training reported 2952 62.1 1678 87.8 

One to two years in college or university 934 19.6 176 9.2 

Three or more years in college or university 865 18.2 56 2.8 



THE RURAL SCHOOLS 219 

In examiniDg these data it should be remembered that the ac- 
cepted standard of preparation for elementary teachers in the United 
States is completion of a two-year course beyond high school grad- 
uation; for high school teachers completion of a four-year course 
beyond high school. In both cases it is expected that professional 
courses are included. 

If a group of teachers averages far below these standards it 
is generally conceded that school work of high order cannot be 
expected. It is true that there are exceptional cases fo born 
teachers, successful in spite of inadequate preparation. A similar 
situation is sometimes found in other vocations and professions 
as well as teaching. However, geniuses of this type are relative- 
ly few. The best protection for school children from possible in- 
competence is insistence on a minimum amount of preparation on 
the part of teachers. Any large group, therefore, may be safely 
judged according to the closeness with which they attain or approxi- 
mate the standards mentioned. 

Replies to the Bureau's questionnaires were received from 
approximately 2,000 rural teachers employed in communities of 
200 or less in population. The results of summaries made from 
them are shown in Table 35. Forty-six per cent had completed a 
four year high school; 7 per cent completed one or more 
years of work above high school or of college grade; 25 per cent 

TABLE 36— LENGTH OF SERVICE OF TEACHERS. 

In places of In places of 

200 papula- less than 200 

Length of Service tion and over population 

Number Per Cent Number Per Cent 

Number reporting 4,735 1,922 

Service in school in which now 
employed : 

One year or less 2,327 49 1,376 71.5 

. Two years 1,042 22 353 18.3 

Three years 462 9.7 79 4.1 

Over three years 904 19 114 5.9 

Total length of teaching service: 

One year or less 578 12.1 515 26.7 

Two years 542 11.4 337 17.8 

Three years 520 11.4 198 10.3 

Over three years 3,095 65.5 872 45.3 



220 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

had attended some courses in normal school, many of them summer 
or other short courses, 2.8 per cent had completed either a three or 
four year college course, and 12 per cent had enrolled at some time 
in some sort of college or university courses. High school as well 
as elementary teachers are included in this group. 

In teaching experience Table 36 shows that about one-half the 
teachers, or 55.6 per cent, have taught three or four years, 17.8 
per cent two years, and 26.7 per cent one year or less. The last 
group were in most cases teaching their first year when the data 
were completed. 

Even the experienced teachers move from place to place with 
great frequency; relatively few remain two years in the same 
school. Table 36 shows that of the groups studied 71.5 per cent 
were teaching in the school in which they were serving at the time 
the questionnaire was sent out one year or less, 18.3 per cent two 
years, and 10 per cent three years or more. 

SALARIES OF TEACHERS. 

Salaries paid are usually an index to the character of the 
teaching staff. Teachers should be drawn from among the intelli- 
gent group of young people in our secondary and higher institutions. 
They need, in addition to academic work, professional preparation 
involving a good deal of time and expense. Unless salaries are 
commensurate with the importance of the work, teaching will not 
appeal to and retain in service qualified young men and women. 

Oklahoma must compete with western and middle western 
States in salaries paid. At present a large percentage of the trained 
teachers come from outside the State. Good salaries are necessary, 
therefore, to securing good teachers. In median and average 
salaries paid to teachers of rural schools, Oklahoma ranks well 
among the States. In minimum salary paid in poor districts, she 
ranks low among the States. 

Data on salaries of rural teachers collected from all the States 
for the school year 1921-22, Table 37, show that in median salaries 
paid in one-teacher schools, Oklahoma is in the group with Colorado, 
Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, 
Oregon, Utah, and "Wisconsin. The median annual salary in all these 
States is between $800 and $900 (one-teacher schools only). In nine 



THE RURAL SCHOOLS 



221 



TABLE 37. 
States in the same median salary group as Oklahoma: 



1-teacher 

Coloi-ado 

Indiana 

Michigan 

Nebraska 

New York 

North Dakota 

Ohio 

Oklahoma 

Oregon 

Utah 

Wisconsin 



2 -teacher 

Iowa 

Michigan 

Minnesota 

Nebraska 

New Hampshire 

New York 

Ohio 

Oklahoma 

Oregon 



3 -teacher 

Indiana 

Kansas 

Montana 

Ohio 

Oklahoma 



States in median salary groups above 
medians: 



Consolidated 

Arizona 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Maryland 

Nebraska 

Oklahoma 

Tennessee 

West Virginia 



Oklahoma, arranged in order of States 



with highest 

1-teacher 

Arizona 

California 

Washington 

New Jersey 

New Mexico 

Connecticut 

Idaho 

Minnesota 

Montana 

Nevada 

South Dakota 



2-teacher 

California 

Arizona 

Montana 

Nevada 

South Dakota 

Washington 

Colorado 

Connecticut 

Idaho 

New Jersey 

New Mexico 

North Dakota 

Wisconsin 

Wyoming 



3-teacher 

California 

Arizona 

New Jersey 

New York 

Washington 

Colorado 

Idaho 

Nebraska 

New Mexico 

North Dakota 

South Dakota 

Connecticut 

Iowa 

Minnesota 

Oregon 

Wisconsin 

Wyoming 



Consolidated 

Nevada 

California 

Wyoming 

Michigan 

Montana 

New Jersey 

New Mexico 

Oregon 

South Dakota 

Utah 

Washington 

Colorado 

Connecticut 

Idaho 

Minnesota 

New York 

North Dakota 

Rhode Island 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Ohio 

Wisconsin 



Median salaries in neighboring S'tates of Oklahoma compared: 

1-teacher 2-teacher 3-teacher 

Oklahoma $800 900 900 

Missouri 500 600 800 

Texas ! 600 700 700 

Kansas 700 800 900 

Colorado 800 1000 1100 

New Mexico 1000 1000 1100 



Consolidated 

900 

500 

700 
1000 
1100 
1200 



States, nearly all of which are in the west, the median salaries are 
from $100 to $400 per year higher. In this group are South Dakota, 
Nevada, Montana, Idaho, Arizona, California, New Jersey, New 
Mexico, and Washington. 



222 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

Considering the salaries of two-teacher schools, the median for 
Oklahoma is $900 to $1,000; thirteen States (all western but New 
Jersey) pay a higher median than Oklahoma. In rural schools of 
other types, i. e., three-teacher, consolidated, and village, Oklahoma 
ranks similarly in comparison with the other States, that is, not 
among those paying either the highest nor the lowest median 
salaries. 

If we consider not median but minimum salaries, and if we con- 
sider the variation among counties and districts, we find a far less 
creditable situation. Oklahoma is one of 20 States (nearly all 
southern States of far less ability financially) in which there are 
large groups of rural teachers receiving less than $300 per year. 
The discrimination between rural and urban salaries, as shown in 
Tables 38 and 39, is very marked. 



RURAL SCHOOLS 



223 



TABLE 38.— ANNUAL SALARIES OP TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS IN 

THE RURAL SCHOOLS OF OKLAHOMA FOR THE SCHOOL 

YEAR 1921-22 ARRANGED ACCORDING TO SIZE 

OF SCHOOL.* 



Number of teachers receiving 
salaries indicated in 



Number of principals 
receiving salaries indi- 
cated and directing 



Annual 
Salaries 


Si 

cS o 
4) O 

a « 
o 


Two-teacher 
schools 


Three or more 
teacher schools 
in open 


>> 

u 

c 

3 
o 
w 


73 
4) 

o Xi 

o 

O 


0) 

u 
o 

a 
o 

u 


teacher schools | 
in villages and 


c 
o 


S§ 

« Si 


Organized high 
school onlyt 


Schools having 
both elemen- 
tary and high 
school pupils 


Less than 


























$300 


2 


2 























300— 399 


32 


12 


2 




















400— 499 


63 


32 


4 




















500— 599 


150 


46 


5 




15 









1 


.... 







600— 699 


245 


89 


34 




32 








4 


.... 




3 


700— 799 


444 


71 


22 




38 




41 




10 


1 




5 


800— 899 


539 


149 


42 




67 




83 




12 


2 




21 


900— 999 


272 


94 


50 




185 




170 




11 






52 


1000—1099 


319 


146 


26 




79 




48 




16 


1 




39 


1100—1199 


49 


46 


32 




59 




84 




10 


3 




68 


1200—1299 


63 


63 


37 




32 




22 




31 






38 


1300—1399 


20 


27 


13 




25 




30 




12 


3 




60 


1400—1499 


5 


12^ 


5 




20 




21 




6 


.... 




14 


1500—1599 


9 


12 


7 




12 




21 




9 


1 




26 


1600—1699 


2 


12 


8 




9 




4 




.... 


.... 




10 


1700-1799 


.... 


4 


1 




4 




4 




.... 


.... 




4 


1800—1899 


1 


12 


2 




17 




9 




31 


1 




63 


1900 — 1999 




17 


.... 




1 




1 







1 




4 


2000—2099 


.... 


4 


1 




11 




3 




.... 


.... 




10 


2100—2199 


.... 


1 


.... 




1 




1 






.... 




7 


2200—2299 




6 


1 




3 




.... 




.... 






5 


2300—2399 


.... 


.... 


.... 




2 




.... 




.... 


.... 




.... 


2400—2499 


.... 


.... 


.... 




5 




4 




.... 


1 




13 


2500—2599 


.... 


.... 


• -.* 




3 




.... 




..— 


.... 




10 


2600—2699 


.... 


.... 


---• 




.... 




.... 




.... 


...- 







2700—2799 


.... 


.... 


>... 




1 




.... 




.... 


.... 




1 


2800—2899 


.... 


.... 


1 




.... 




.... 




.... 


.... 




2 


2900—2999 


.... 


.... 


1 




2 




.... 




.... 


.... 




1 


3000 or over 




.... 


9 




18 




5 




.... 


.... 




11 


Total 


2215 


857 


303 




641 




551 




153 


14 




467 


Median 
























» 


salaries 


$800— 


$900— 


$1200— 


$900— 


$900— 


$1200— 


$1100— 


J1300— 


for each 


899 


999 


1299 




999 




999 




1299 


1199 


1399 


group 



























* Number of counties reporting — 49. 

tNot con.solidated. 

tinclude both junior and senior high schools. 



224 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 









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RURAL SCHOOLS ' 225 

In the same kind of schools, i. e., one-teacher or two-teacher 
or consolidated schools, there is a wide range in salaries paid among 
counties and among districts in the same county. Certain infor- 
mation concerning salaries paid rural teachers in nine counties is 
shoAvn in Table 39. In Cimarron county the salaries of teachers in 
one-teacher schools range from $180 to $1,215 per year; in Le Flore 
county, from $225 to $1,650. 

Similar differences are found among other types of schools in 
these and in other counties. It is because of variations of this 
kind, indicating the widest possible differences in school facilities 
furnished children in the different parts of the State, that the de- 
mand for intelligent consideration and immediate action is most 
insistent. Standardization of teaching qualifications and salaries 
through centralization of certificating authority, and a minimum 
salary, paid in part by the State, is recommended in Chapter III. 
These recommendations, if followed, and an aroused interest on 
the part of the people in their schools, will help in the solution of 
the teacher problem. 

THE QUALITY OF INSTRUCTION IN RURAL SCHOOLS. 

The fundamental weakness of the rural schools of Oklahoma, 
one or two-room and consolidated schools alike, is the lack of 
skilled teaching. This weakness was evident in every county 
visited, even in those counties having the most efficient superinten- 
dents. 

In fully ninety per cent of the schools visited the following con- 
ditions were observed : rooms are bare and unattractive ; class 
organization was inefficient ; lesson assignments were indefinite, with 
a tendency to stimulate effort on the part of children for short 
periods of time only ; children were expected to repeat the lesson as 
given in the book, as individuals, to the teacher, instead of doing 
original thinking or challenging the attention of their classmates 
when reciting. Entire reading periods were spent by children 
reading orally, for the most part in a very halting manner selections 
familiar to all pupils, without any attempt on the part of the teacher 
to question the children's understanding of the selection, to provoke 
the use of judgment, to explain meanings which might not be clear 
to them, or to drill on difficulties. 

Children in the schools observed rarely have opportunity to 
read more than two readers, frequently but one, during an entire 

5. s. 8 



226 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

school year; supplementary material for primary grades and seat 
work material was usually entirely lacking or altogether insufficient 
in amount. The library available for the use of all grades consists 
of a single set of reference books. 

No attempt to relate instruction in the school to life outside was 
observed; nor was attention given to current events. Idleness on 
the part of a majority of the children during a large proportion of 
the time characterized study and seat work periods, especially in 
primary grades. 

In order to check the judgment of members of the staff who 
observed the teaching, results of instruction were measured by 
acliievement tests given to children in rural, consolidated, and urban 
schools in seventeen counties in various sections of the State, as re- 
ported elsewhere. The results indicate that children in the rural 
and consolidated schools of Oklahoma are far below children in 
the urban schools in attainment. 

RESULTS OF EDUCATIONAL TESTS. 

In reading, judged by Thorndyke-McCall standards, children 
in rural schools in the age groups from 7 to 18 years, inclusive, tested 
from 9 to 28 months below children in urban schools in correspond- 
ing age groups; the median difference between rural and urban 
children for these eleven groups is 14.7 months. The median read- 
ing score for rural children in the 7, 8, and 9 year old groups is 
6, 5, 7, and 1.7 months, respectively, above the Thorndyke-McCall 
normal reading ability standards, but 17.6, 14.7, and 11.3 months 
below median reading scores for urban children in similar age 
groups. 

The median reading score for children in rural schools in the 
10 to 18 year old groups falls below Thorndyke-McCall norman 
reading ability standards. The tendency to fall below the standard 
increases as the age of groups advances. There is 2.4 montlis 
retardation in the ten year old group, 18.3 months in the 14 year 
group, and 48.4 months in the 18 year old group. 

Compared by grades instead of age groups the tests show that 
in and above the third grade rural children in each grade fall be- 
low reading standards set for the whole country for these grades; 
the smallest variation from the standard median is 1.6 points in 
the fourth grade; the greatest, 8.8 points in the sixth grade. 

The results of the achievement tests indicate that teaching is 
no better in consolidated than in one-teacher schools. With the 



RURAL SCHOOLS 227 

exception of nine year old children and those of high school age, 
children in consolidated schools made lower reading scores than 
those of the same ages in rural schools. Compared by grades chil- 
dren in the third, fourth, and high school grades in the consolidated 
schools made slightly higher scores than those in corresponding 
grades in ungraded rural schools. The intermediate and upper 
grade children in rural schools made higher scores than those in 
corresponding grades in consolidated schools. 

The results of the tests confirm conclusions made by observation, 
namely, that reading is very poorly taught in both kinds of schools. 
Rural children are greatly handicapped upon entering high school. 
They have read few books, in many, cases only one each year, and 
have not read the few intelligently. At fourteen years of age they 
are more than a year and a half behind the normal standard reading 
ability. Rural pupils in the 17 year old group are 51.1 months below 
standard for their age. 

This is a tremendous handicap, not only in the study of such 
important subjects as English and American literature, but in his- 
tory, civics, science, and all other high school subjects. Lacking 
ability to read intelligently, many fail to pass the high school en- 
trance requirements. Others enter and muddle along through; 
others realizing their handicap in the effort to get an education, drop 
out of school entirely. 

Because of the fundamental importance of the subject, instruc- 
tion in reading has been discussed at some length. In spelling, chil- 
dren in the rural schools in all elementary grades in which the 
tests were given, the third and fourth grades excepted, measured 
from 9.2 to 17.9 points below the standard for their grade. Chil- 
dren in consolidated schools, generally speaking, made scores slight- 
ly higher in this subject than those in rural schools, but below stand- 
ard and the scores of urban children. 

In the Courtis Arithmetic tests the highest median percentage 
of addition examples correctly solved in any grade in the rural 
schools was 58.3 per cent in the eighth grade compared with 61.9 
per cent in urban schools; the highest median percentage of prob- 
lems solved correctly in division in any grade in rural schools was 
74.3 per cent in the eighth grade compared with a median percent- 
age of 80.5 per cent in the eighth grade in urban schools. 

Results from similar tests given in consolidated schools show 
that in half the grades children in consolidated schools test higher, 



228 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

in half lower, than children in rural schools. When comparisons 
are made in terms of ages children in age groups from nine to 
fourteen in both rural and consolidated schools fall below urban 
children in the percentage of examples correctly colved. The vari- 
ation is briefly indicated as follows : 

Per Cent Correct 

Age 9 Age 12 Age 15 

Addition : 

Rural 34.6 43.2 42.8 

Consolidated 35.3 39.7 44.5 

City 39.8 35.9 55.8 

Subtraction : 

Rural 47.5 56.8 65.2 

Consolidated 67.5 56.3 , 60.3 

City „ 57.8 53.0 78.6 

Multiplication : 

Rural 35.9 44.6 51.6 

Consolidated 30.8 43.1 51.0 

City 44.5 56.2 65.2 

Division : 

Rural 31.9 42.8 60.0 

Consolidated 31.4 35.9 59.0 

City 38.2 53.9 71.2 

In composition and writing differences similar to those described 
above result from comparing the attainments of children in rural 
and consolidated schools with those of children in urban schools. 

The tests confirm the unanimous judgment of members of the 
rural school committee. The quality of instruction in rural schools 
in alii subjects is very poor. In consolidated schools instruction is 
almost equally poor. Centralization of schools is a splendid first 
step in creating conditions that make the closer grading of children 
and longer teaching periods possible. Unless this first step in im- 
proving conditions is followed by successful efforts to secure skilled 
teaching through professional preparation of teachers, supervision, 
modern equipment, and the like, the erection of large central build- 
ings will fail to serve the purpose for which they were intended. 

THE NEED OF PROFESSIONAL SUPERVISION. 

The inferior quality of instruction is not attributable to lack of 
native ability or conscientiousness on tlie part of the rural teachers 



RURAL SCHOOLS 229 

observed, but to a lack of knowledge of good school organization; 
teaching methods, and to the lack of professional supervision. Rural 
teachers in the State of Oklahoma have less training and are receiv- 
ing less direction than any other group of teachers in the State. 

Urban boards of education find it possible and desirable to 
employ superintendents, school principals, and clerical assistants 
for the proper administration of schools. Notwithstanding the fact 
that they are able to attract to their school systems teachers who 
have received professional training, they employ in addition a corps 
of supervisors whose business it is to follow up and improve methods 
of instruction in the various elementary grades. 

Rural teachers need a similar kind of direction and help. 
The State of Oklahoma can give it to them by providing for rural 
supervisors as assistants to the county superintendents, whose duty 
it will be to travel from school to school helping to secure efficient 
organization, suggesting workable type programs, demonstrating 
superior methods of teaching, observing methods in use and making 
suggestions for improvement, organizing teachers' meetings and 
parent-teacher associations, and inspiring teachers and patrons to 
demand better schools. If urban teachers need help, surely the rural 
teachers whose task is much more difficult and complex need it. 

Plans for providing ample supervision of rural schools through 
emplojdng a staff of assistants to the county superintendent are 
found successful in many other States. In New Jersey, after a three 
years' trial, the State Commissioner of Education declared in his 
Annual Report of December, 1919, that helping teachers had im- 
proved the quality of instruction in the rural schools a hundred per 
cent. Maryland, by the terms of a law recently passed established 
State-wide supervision by providing a minimum of one supervisor 
for every 40 rural teachers. Delaware, Connecticut, Ohio, Utah, 
Wisconsin, and Alabama are among the other States in which suc- 
cessful plans for supervising rural schools are in operation. Only 
12 States, of which Oklahoma is one, have failed entirely to employ 
rural supervisors in any of their counties. 

THE COURSE OF STUDY. 

A new State course of study is being prepared by the State 
department of education. Copies were not available at the time 
the survey was made, therefore this discussion is based on the ob- 
servation of members of the survey staff. It is true, however, 
that a course of study on paper is of little value unless organized 



230 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

effort is made on the part of officials in charge to assure that the 
regulations are intelligently understood and carried out by the 
teachers. The real place to study a curriculum is in the school room 
rather than in a printed leaflet. It is also true that a State course 
of study is used chiefly in rural schools and by rural teachers, and 
should be designed for their needs particularly. Cities as a rule 
prepare special courses for their own use or special adaptations of 
the State course. 

So far as practice in the schools is concerned, it is apparent that 
the special needs of rural schools and rural children have received 
very little attention in the curriculum or from administrative and 
supervisory officers. This \s true both as to organization of the 
schools and classes according to the number of teachers, size of 
classes, etc., and in the content of the curriculum. 

The teaching of agriculture and home economics is required 
by law in the upper grades. Eegulations issued from the State de- 
partment suggest that all boys and girls in rural schools be expected 
to join clubs under the direction of county farm and home demon- 
stration agents. The latter are not yet fully in operation and their 
effect cannot be judged. The former is of little significance, since 
too often the teaching must be done by overworked teachers with 
little general or special preparation for teaching these subjects. 

ORGANIZATION. 

A few of the schools visited were well organized and had well- 
balanced programs. The larger number showed faulty organization. 
One and two-room school teachers apparently lacked knowledge of, 
or ability to use, the plan of combining classes and of alternating 
subject matter by years, very generally advocated by leaders in 
rural education for schools of this type. As a consequence the 
minimum number of classes scheduled for a single day in the schools 
of this size observed was 28. The maximum number was 50. 

When time for morning exercises, recess periods, and other 
interruptions is deducted from the six hour school day, not more 
than five hours are left. This means that teachers observed averag- 
ed from about 6 to 11 minutes per day to each class. In many one- 
ieacher schools 50 or more children are enrolled \\'ith an average 
number of six in a class. If these classes averaged four recitations 
a day each child receives from four to six minutes of the teacher's 
attention during the day. 



RURAL SCHOOLS 231 

Effective teaching caimot be done under such time limitations. 
Very short teaching periods handicap the development of both 
teachers and children. The former fail to develop skill in the pre- 
sentation of subject matter; the latter fail in the mastery of sub- 
ject matter and the mental power that results from the right type 
of mastery. 

In consolidated schools it is customary to find first grades 
divided into five or more groups; while teachers above the first 
grade fail to make any grouping of children with reference to 
ability but attempt to teach 40 or more children in a single group. 

The differences between the one-room, the two or three-room 
school and the consolidated school are so marked that a course 
of study should include specific suggestions designed to give definite 
assistance to the teachers in the different types of schools with their 
problems of organization, 

CONTENT OF COURSE OF STUDY. 

The objectives for the elementary school in. rural communities 
are the same as those of urban schools. Each should endeavor to 
give to the pupils "such training as will make them acceptable 
members of society, fitted, in so far as their ages will permit, to meet 
the practical demands of daily life, possessing an interest in further 
learning, and so prepared that they will be free to enter upon any 
line of work or further schooling that they may care to choose." (1) 
Social cleavage such as might be brought about by sharp distinction 
in objectives of the two classes of schools should be avoided. 

(1) O. C. Brim: Rural School Survey of New York State. 

The problem of the school is largely that of supplementing the 
out-of-school experience of the pupil so that the desired objectives 
may be attained. This means that there will be need for recognition 
of the difference between country and urban schools in two respects 
in the formulation of courses of study : 

(1) Since the home and community experiences of the two 
groups are different in many respects, in the selection of teaching 
content there should be recognition of the importance of the school 
adjusting its activities to the supplementing of the child's daily 
experiences. This will call for a teaching content that will be some- 
what different for the two types of schools. This difference would 
be especially marked in such subjects as health education and com- 
munity civics. 



232 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

(2) Good instruction demands that the work of the school 
utilize the experiences of the child as completely as possible. As a 
result the approach to many topics that are taught in the schools 
should be different for country children from that adopted for urban 
children. Illustrations may be found in many of the topics of arith- 
metic and geography. 

THE COURSE OF STUDY A TEACHER'S MANUAL. 
The State board of education should be responsible for the com- 
pilation of a State course of study especially adapted to rural 
schools. In its formulation the best talent in the State or, if neces- 
sary, in the entire country should be enlisted. Such a State course 
of study should indicate: 

(1) Objectives to be attained. 

(2) Principles to be stressed in each of the subjects taught 
in rural schools. 

(3) Desirable methods of teaching each subject, accompanied 
by lesson plans illustrating methods described. 

(4) A method of outlining an entire term's work by problems 
closely related to the lives of the rural children of Oklahoma. 

(5) Projects that would serve to unify the organization of 
the various school subjects, to lengthen teaching periods, and 
economize time. 

(6) Plans for lengthening periods by combining closely re- 
lated branches of the same subject — literature, composition, and 
spelling, for example, — and the various branches of science. 

(7) A plan for alternating subject matter by years for one 
and two-teacher schools. 

(8) Minimum essentials for each grade in one-teacher schools, 
with additional requirements for grades in schools of other types. 

(9) The kind of organization that is best adapted for use 
in the various types of rural school, the one and two-room and the 
consolidated school of varying size. 

(10) Suggestive type programs for one-room schools, two- 
room and consolidated schools. 

(11) Lists of supplementary material with directions for its 
use, including the place of current literature in the preparation of 
children for intelligent participation in government; games for 
motivating drill in the various subjects, etc. 

The following programs suggest a method of lengthening 
periods by combining grades, alternating subjects and teaching 



RURAL SCHOOLS 233 

•during a single period closely related branches of the same subject, 
and conform to the principles stated above : 

PROGRA^I FOR ONE-TEACHER SCHOOL. 

9 :00 — 9 :20 Morning exercises including Health Club inspection. 

9 :20 — 9 :35 D reading and phonics. 

9 :35 — 9 :50 C reading and phonics. 

9 :50 — 9 :55 Setting up exercises. 

9:55—10:15 B arithmetic. 

10:15—10:35 A arithmetic. 

10:35 — 10:45 Organized games. 

10 :45— 10 :50 Recess. 

10 :50 — 11 :10 C and D industrial arts and number work. 

11 :10 — 11 :30 B geography or history. 

11:30—12:00 History (3) civics (1) current events (1). 

12 :00 — 1 :00 Lunch and game period. 

1 :00 — 1 :15 D reading and language, fbased on nature study 

1 :15 — 1 :35 C reading and language. 1 or primitive life. 

1:35 — 1:50 Writing for entire school (4) hygiene (1). 

1:50 — 1:55 Setting up exercises. 

1:55 — 2:15 B reading (4) hygiene for entire school (1). 

2:15 — 2:45 A reading, language and spelling. 

2 :45 — 2 :55 Organized games or gymnastic drill. 

2:55— 3:00 Recess. 



Handwork 
for A and B 
Groups (1). 



3:00 — 3:25 B language and spelling (4). 
3 :25 — 4 :00 A general science, including geography, 
agriculture, home economics. 
Note : A group includes 6th, 7th and 8th grades. 
B group includes 4th and 5th grades. 
C group includes 2nd and 3rd grades. 
D group includes beginners and first grade. 

PROGRAM FOR THE GRAJVIMAR GRADES OF A 
TWO-TEACHER SCHOOL. 

9 :00 — 9 :20 Morning exercises including health inspection (under 

pupil leadership). 
9 :20 — 9 :25 Five minute period practice in fundamentals in 

arithmetic. 
9:25— 9:45 B arithmetic. 
9:45—10:15 A arithmetic. 
10 :15 — 10 :40 B geography or history. 



234 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

10:40 — 10:50 Organized games. 

10 :50— 10 :55 Recess. 

10:55 — 11:30 A history (3) civics (1) current events (1). 

11:30 — 12:00 B language and spelling (4) hygiene for entire 

school (1). 
12 :00 — 1 :00 Lunch and play period. 
1 :00 — 1 :35 A language and spelling. 
1:35— 1:55 Writing. 
1:55 — 2:00 Setting up exercises. 

2:00 — 2:30 B reading (4) current events with A group (1). 
2:30 — 2:40 Organized games or gymnastic drill. 
2:40— 2:50 Recess. 
2:50 — 3:25 A reading (3) music for entire group (1) drawing 

or handwork for entire group (1). 
3:25 — 4:00 A general science including geography (3) agri- 
culture (2) home economics. 
Note: B group includes 5th and 6th grades. 
A group includes 7th and 8th grades. 

I-IV PROGRAM FOR PRIMARY GRADES OF A 
TWO-TEACHER SCHOOL. 

9:00 — 9:20 Morning exercises including health inspection under 
pupil leadership. 

9 :20 — 9 :40 D reading and language. 

9:40 — 10:00 C reading and language. 

10:00 — 10:05 Setting up exercises or games. 

10:05 — 10:25 B arithmetic and industrial arts. 

10:25 — 10:45 A arithmetic and industrial arts. 

10 :45 — 10 :55 Organized games. 

10 :55— 11 :00 Recess. 

11 :00 — 11 :15 C and D number and handwork period. 

11 :15 — 11 :35 B reading based on nature study and primitive life. 

11 :35 — 12 :00 A geography or history. 

12 :00 — 1 :00 Noon recess and game period. 

1 :00 — 1 :20 D reading and phonics. 

1 :20 — 1 :40 C reading and phonics. 

1 :40 — 2 :00 Writing for entire group. 

2 :00 — 2 :05 Setting up exercises or relaxation period. 

2:05— 2:30 B reading. 

2 :30 — 2 :40 Organized games or gymnastic drill. 

2:40— 2:50 Recess. 



RURAL SCHOOLS 235 

2 :50 — 3.10 Music for entire group. 
3:10 — 3:30 B language and spelling. 
3 :30 — 4 :00 A language and spelling. 
Note: D beginners. 

C high first grade. 

B second grade. 

A third and fourth grades. 

PROVISION FOR TRAINING RURAL TEACHERS. 

The State of Oklahoma is to be commended for establishing six 
State Schools for the training of teachers. Some States as large 
and populous as Oklahoma have not as many. It is, however, un- 
fortunate that neither in the organization of these schools nor in. 
the law which establishes requirements for teaching certificates 
has any adequate attention been given to the supply of teachers 
for rural schools. As mentioned in other sections of this report the 
quality of instruction observed in rural schools is their greatest 
weakness and is a problem with which the least progress seems to 
have been made. 

In none of the six teachers' colleges are there strong courses 
designed especially to prepare rural teachers and emphasizing the 
organization and curriculum of the rural school. None of these 
institutions has provided for practice and observation work in 
rural schools for teachers in training. 

It is not surprising, therefore, to find when visiting schools in 
the State that there are very few teachers in the rural schools who 
have completed the established courses; and that the teaching of 
those who have had complete or partial training at these institutions 
shows very little improvement over that of those who have not. 

Teachers must have ideals and standards of good schools and 
good school practice gained through systematic observation of 
both; they must have opportunity for abundant practice in apply- 
ing principles of teaching studied in courses on theory and method 
before going into the schools to take full responsibility for the 
education of a group of children. Unless the teacher preparing 
institutions furnish such ideals and provide the opportunity to their 
students to know by observation how good rural Schools are 
organized and conducted, and the difference between good and poor 
schools and between good and bad teaching; unless they show the 
prospective teacher how to apply the principles studied, and pro- 
vide ample practice in making the application under normal con- 



236 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

ditions, teachers will continue to go out from the teacher preparing 
institutions without any significant improvement in their methods 
of teaching, and learn their work by experience and experi- 
mentation at the expense of the children in their charge. This is 
exactly the thing normal schools were established to avoid. So 
far at least, the influence of the teacher preparing institutions of 
Oklahoma on the rural communities of the State and their services 
to the rural children arei negligible. 

NEEDS OF RURAL SECTIONS NEGLECTED. 

It is doubtless true in Oklahoma as it is in some other States 
that the teachers' colleges are inadequately supported; that they 
are not turning out as many teachers as the State needs ; that, there- 
fore, the prepared teachers can get positions in towns and cities and 
do not as school officials say "need to go into the country schools". 
But this does not excuse the State for shirking its responsibility to 
country children. That salaries for rural teachers are too low to be 
attractive is the fault in part (not wholly as explained in the sec- 
tion on school support) of the rural people. That standards are so 
low that prepared teachers do not need to go into rural schools 
is the fault of the State in which its teacher preparing institutions 
must share. The State should set up and enforce standards for 
teaching certificates ; the normal schools must assume certain 
responsibilities toward setting these standards and preparing 
teachers to meet them, and must help the rural people to realize their 
educational needs, as well as prepare teachers to meet them. 

Approximately 75 per cent of the population of Oklahoma is 
rural. It is to be assumed that this high percentage of the pop- 
ulation pays its proportionate share toward the support of the 
State teacher preparing institutions. In return for their expenditure 
the rural schools receive practically nothing in the way of the 
service which they were established to provide. 

In order that the State Teachers' Colleges may more nearly 
fulfill their purpose they should be organized to prepare rural 
teachers for their respective sections. The legislature should ap- 
propriate funds to enable them to do this, and should expect the in- 
stitutions to prepare a constantly increasing percentage of the 
student body for teaching in rural schools. This is no new idea; 
other States (including most of those bordering on Oklahoma) have 
made considerable progress in both resident and extension work 
for improving rural school conditions and preparing rural teachers. 



RURAL SCHOOLS 237 

To accomplish this end special courses should be established 
beginning in the summer of 1923. Entrance requirements should 
be the same as for other courses. A director of the rural educa- 
tion department should be secured equal in scholarship, in profes- 
sional skill and experience, and in personality with the heads of 
other major departments, and should receive the maximum salary. 

Groups of rural schools should be selected to be used for ob- 
servation and practice centers. These may be located in the 
county in which the institution is located or in adjacent centers, — 
preferably both plans should be initiated as soon as possible. The 
local schools so affiliated would gain by closer association with a 
State institution and expert advice from its instructors; the insti- 
tution and expert advice from its instructors ; the institution would 
gain by coming into close touch with conditions in the field as well 
as through gaining the opportunity for increasing its training school 
facilities. The salaries of the teachers in the schools affiliated with 
the training school and used for observation and practice should 
be supplemented by the institution served and their appointments 
approved. 

This plan would necessitate some enlargement of the training 
school staff. It is very desirable that all members of a training 
school staff spend some time in the field, helping graduates and 
other students who are teaching; bringing back to the institution 
a better idea of practical needs, and super\dsing the training in af- 
filiated schools. Much good might be accomplished by adding 
one person to the full staff for this purpose, and arranging a rotat- 
ing staff with one member constantly in the field. 

The State teachers' colleges should assist in raising the stand- 
ard of teachers by establishing strong courses and extension cen- 
ters offering the highest possible grade of service to rural teachers 
in service. These courses should not compromise in any sense 
with high standards of work as given in the institution itself, but 
should be designed to give teachers an opportunity to improve 
while continuing in the service. 

If standards for certification are raised as recommended in 
another section of this report, definite arrangements should be 
made through co-operation of the State Board of Education and 
the teachers' colleges to enable successful teachers of experience, 
who entered the system prior to their adoption, to meet the stand- 
ards. All courses established for this purpose should be approved , 



238 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

by the State board of education and should include opportunity 
for observation and practice as well as training in theory and 
method. 

TEACHER TRAINING IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 

The secondary departments of the six teachers' colleges, the 
four State agricultural schools, and 68 city high schools offer 
teacher training courses leading to a State two year certificate and 
designated as especially for the preparation of teachers in rural 
schools. The law authorizing these courses and the issue of the cer- 
tificates was passed in 1915. In accordance with its provisions a 
supplement to the State high school course of study was prepared 
for the teacher training classes which is briefly as follows : 

"At least one-half unit in psychology; one-half unit in the 
science of teaching; one full unit in American history and govern- 
ment; one full year's work in agriculture, with laboratory and 
demonstration work, giving special attention to school gardens 
and practice ; not less than one full unit in domestic science for 
girls, and not less than one full unit in manual training for boys, 
one full unit in reviews courses of six weeks each, to include the sub- 
jects of physiology and sanitation, grammar, reading, penmanship, 
spelling, arithmetic and geography ; and one hour, or its equivalent 
in time to be devoted to observation work, lessons plans, and practice 
teaching in all grades from the first to the eighth inclusive." — Re- 
port of State Superintendent for 1921-22. 

Definite information concerning the number of certificates 
issued to graduates of secondary departments at the six teachers' 
colleges is not available. There were 804 students enrolled in 
normal training classes in all other high schools in the State (in- 
cluding State agricultural schools, a few private schools and city 
high schools) during the school year 1921-22, and 629 certificates 
issued. The courses are elective in the eleventh and twelfth grades. 
Graduates of these courses were observd by members of the staff 
in rural, village, consolidated, and city schools. In some counties 
very few such graduates were found in the ungraded rural schools. 
In others there were a good many. 

Members of the staff visited 25 of the normal training classes in 
high schools, conferred with the instructors in most cases, and 
visited the schools (usually city graded schools) in which observa- 
tion and practice work are done in nearly all. The instruction is 
given by teachers on the regular high school staff who handle other 



RURAL SCHOOLS 239 

subjects as well as training class courses; by the superintendent 
of the city school system ; by the principal of the high school ; and 
by teachers selected solely for training class work. 

In one city high school and in one State agricultural school the 
work is given after graduation as a fifth year or post graduate 
course. In most cases the instructors in charge were men or 
women of superior ability and personality as well as education 
and experience. They were in most cases doing as good work as 
possible under very adverse circumstances. 

DIFFICULTIES CONFRONTING TEACHER TRAINING CLASS 

ES IN HIGH SCHOOLS. 

Some of the obstacles encountered in classes observed are : 

(1) There is no adequate opportunity for observation and prac- 
tice under direction. Practice work consists in substituting for 
regular teachers, in many eases. No opportunity for practice and 
very little for observation of rural schools was given to the classes 
visited by members of the staff. Students observe unskilled teach- 
ing in both city and rural schools at least as often as they observe 
skilled teaching. 

(2) The instruction is unsatisfactory. Too many subjects 
must be crowded into a short time ; e. g. — psychology and pedagogy 
in a single semester; methods in several common branches into a 
six weeks period. Not only is time too limited but one instructor 
must cover too many subjects. It is unreasonable to expect the 
same person to have specialized adequately in all the required sub- 
jects. 

(3) Too much of the professional work observed is of an ex- 
tremely formal nature. Many students sacrifice a year which could 
be given to good academic training for one of so-called professional 
work, meagre and of poor quality. In many cases they are too 
immature to prepare for teaching — even too young to receive cer- 
tificates under the law, 

(4) In several cities visited, it is believed, the money spent 
for a special instructor for the normal training class in high school 
would be more economically and effectually used to employ a 
supervisor of elementary grades. In other instances the principal 
or superintendent seemed to be neglecting very important supervi- 
sory duties in order to give his time to the training class. 

The establishment of normal training classes in secondary 
schools is a compromise with the real solution of the 



240 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

rural teacher preparing problem. It is difficult to see 

how the State can justify itself in setting up two standards for qual- 
ified teachers, one requiring graduation from high school and an 
additional two years of college grade work; the other requiring 
graduation from a secondary school only, with a minimum of pro- 
fessional work. 

It is a gross injustice to rural children and to farm people to 
expect them to be satisfied with an inferior product while superior 
teachers are trained for city schools at State expense. The train- 
ing of teachers for the rural schools is really a State responsibility 
rather than a local one ; so long as it is under local direction and 
control there will be, as now, some good and some poor work found 
in the normal training classes varying according to local conditions. 
Uniformity in quality is not possible. 

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT. 

The training class as a part of the program for the professional 
training of teachers should be regarded as a temporary expedient, 
and gradually abolished as requirements for certificates are raised. 
It is undoubtedly true that it will be necessary to make use of 
it for several years. In order to make it as effective as possible 
during this interval the following suggestions are offered: 

(1) Reasonably uniform standards for all rural teacher pre- 
paring courses leading to certification or renewal, or credited in 
whole or in part toward certification, should be established by the 
Slate board of education, and the courses should be inspected and 
approved by officials of the board on the basis of these standards. 

(2) Teachers in charge of training classes should have no other 
teaching duties. They should devote their entire time to the in- 
struction of the training class pupils and to supervision and guidance 
of their obesrvation and teaching. Too frequently these latter 
aspects of the work are done in a prefunctory manner. The ob- 
servation and supervised teaching should be a fundamental part 
of the professional training and should be put on a better basis 
than it now is in the high school training classes of the State. 

(3) The State department of education should develop in co- 
operation with at least one State institution a summer course, at- 
tendance at which should be required of all who are to serve as 
training class teachers. This course should extend over a period 
of at least six weeks, and should be devoted exclusively to the prob- 
lems of the organization of work, teaching content, and observation 
and supervised teaching for the training class. There is need for 



RURAL. SCHOOLS 241 

immediate action in this matter in order that the instruction in 
the training classes may be put on a more vital basis than generally 
obtains at present. 

(4) All training class teachers who have not taught in the 
country schools during the past ten years should be required to ob- 
tain such experinece. The number of country schools having a 
summer term will make it possible to do this without interference 
with their work during the regular year, and there can be little 
question about the beneficial reaction that it will have on their work 
as training class teachers. 

(5) There should be at least one rural school with which 
the high school having a training class is cooperating. It would be 
desirable if the high school district cooperate with this school in 
the employment of a superior teacher. In cases where there are 
a large number of students in the training class there should be 
more than one such cooperating school. This arrangement wall 
make it possible for the students in training to have an opportunity 
to observe and teach in a country school that is well organized and 
in Avhich the instruction is on a high plane. 

Too large a proportion of the observation and teaching that the 
training class students are now doing is confined to the grades of 
the city or village school. The result is that too frequently they 
go out quite ignorant of the problems they will have to face in 
the country school. They have no idea of what constitutes an 
efficiently organized and taught country school. 

(6) In accordance with the recommendations made under the 
certification of teachers, the training class work should soon become 
an additional year to be required after high school graduation. When 
this situation obtains it will be possible for the teacher of the train- 
ing class to have entire control of the time of the students, and to 
arrange for more contact with country school conditions on the 
part of those in training. This is very desirable. 

(7) During the time the training classes continue there should 
be liberal State assistance to local districts that are maintaining 
training classes in accordance Avith the requirements of the State 
board. This assistance may well go as far as to provide a grant 
to teachers required to attend the suggested six weeks of training 
and a per capita allowance for students in training. 

These recommendations should be put into operation with full 
recognition of the fact that the training class is to be regarded only 
as a temporary expedient. As long as it is maintained it should 
be conducted on such a basis as to send out the best teachers that 



242 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



can be trained in an institution with the distinct limitations that 
the training class must have. The State should look forward to the 
time when there will be a well organized department of rural 
education in each one of the State colleges and when standards for 
certification are equivalent for teaching in rural and urban schools. 
CENTRALIZATION OF SCHOOLS. 
The people of Oklahoma are to be commended for the progress 
they have made in the consolidation of schools in the face of serious 
financial obstacles. The movement has been advanced in a mark- 
ed degree, and quite generally throughout the State. The State 
department of education and county superintendents have apparent- 
ly cooperated with unusual success both in the number of schools 
centralized and in their distribution throughout the State. All but 
five counties have either consolidated or union graded schools, or 
independent districts which transport children from rural commun- 
ities. Several counties, Jackson, Tulsa, Greer, for example, seem 
to have pushed the movement or to have completed plans for doing 
so to as great a degree as is practicable under present conditions. 

PROPOSED CENTRALIZED SCHOOLS IN CANADIAN COUNTY. 




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GROUP VI. CONSOLIDATED, J 911. 

GROUP VIL CONSOLIDATED, 1920. 
GROUP XX. CONSOLIDATED, 1920. 
GROUP XXin. UNION GRADED, 1920. 
GROUP XXin. CONSOLIDATED, 1921. 

FIGURE 18 



RURAL SCHOOLS 243 

Assistance from the State has been: effective both in spreading 
propaganda in favor of the centralization idea and in making plans 
for the distribution of consolidated districts within the counties. 
(See Figure 18). 

Fewer errors have been made in the way of leaving out from 
the boundaries of such districts isolated strips of territory than in 
many States because of this careful planning of the county superin- 
tendents and the State rural supervisors in most of the counties in 
which consolidation has proceeded to any appreciable degree. These 
officials have cooperated in arranging for sane county-wide plans 
before any centralization were consumated. 

The practice of forming union graded districts where full con- 
solidation seemed impracticable except as a future policy has re- 
sulted in an increase in the number of consolidated schools. The 
tendency for consolidated districts to become independent districts, 
and for union graded districts to become consolidated districts as 
soon as they are able to fulfill the stipulated conditions, is quite 
generally apparent. The number of districts which have evolved 
into independent districts during the three year period is shown 
below : Table 40. 

TABLE 40. 
NUMBER OF CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS. 

Total number accredited consolidated high schools 131 

Total number accredited union graded high schools 21 

Total number accredited centralized high schools 152 

Number of consolidated high schools accredited for more than 

16 units 64 

Number of consolidated high schools accredited for less than 

16 units _ 64 

Number of union graded high schools accredited for more than 

16 units '.. - _ 11 

Number of union graded high schools accredited for less than 

16 units „ 10 

Note : — The numbers of units are not given for 3 consolidated high 
schools. These belong to the "North Central Association, 
of Secondary Schools and are accredited for the work which 
they offer when properly certified to by the regular school 
officials." 



244 



PUBLIC E?DUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



TABLE 41. 
DISTRIBUTION OF CENTRALIZED SCHOOLS BY COUNTIES. 



Counties having none. 
Adair 

Cherokee 
Coal 

Delaware 
Kay 

Counties having one. 

Bryan 

Latimer 

Love 

Mayes 

Murray 

Osage 

Counties having two. 

Atoka 

Cleveland 

Craig 

Haskell 

Jefferson 

Marshall 

McCurtain 

Ottawa 

Pushmataha 

Counties having three. 

Ellis McClain 

Garvin Noble 

Grant Pontotoc 

Le Flore Sequoyah 

Lincoln Woods 

Major 

Counties having four. 

Choctaw 

Comanche 

Pawnee 

Payne 

Pittsburg 

Seminole 

Wagoner 



Counties having five. 
Cotton Logan 

Creek Muskogee 

Custer Nowata 

Garfield Stephens 

Harper Washington 

Counties having six. 



Alfalfa 


Kiowa 


Canadian 


Okfuskee 


Carter 


Tulsa 


Kingfisher 





Counties having seven. 

Blaine Pottawatomie 

Cimarron Rogers 

Mcintosh Woodward 

Ctninties having eight. 
Beckham Texas 

Hughes Washita 

Counties having nine. 

Beaver Harmon 

Caddo Oklahoma 

Dewey Okmulgee 

Grady Tillman 

Counties having eleven. 
Johnston 

Counties having fourteen. 

Roger Mills 

Counties having fifteen. 

Greer 

Counties having twenty-three. 

Jackson. 



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RURAL SCHOOLS 



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246 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

CONSOLIDATED AND UNION GRADED DISTRICTS REPORTED 
AS INDEPENDENT DISTRICTS DURING THE THREE 
YEARS 1919, 1921 and 1922. 

Year Consolidated Union Graded Total 

1919 46 4 50 

1921 61 9 70 

1922 78 10 88 

Some idea of the rapidity with which the movement is growing 
is shown by the fact that during the year 1921, 86 centralized dis- 
tricts received State aid, that is, were formed during that year* 
Of these, 62 were consolidated districts and 25 union graded dis- 
tricts. The number and location of centralized schools, their dis- 
tribution among counties and information concerning high school 
departments are shown in Figure 19 and in Tables 40 and 41, 

LARGER DISTRICTS AND HIGHER VALUATIONS NEEDED. 

There is much evidence t oindicate that in many instances, in 
fact in some instances in nearly all the counties visited, consolidation 
has been stimulated beyond the possibilities for sound and sub- 
stantial growth. This observation was verified by consultation 
with county superintendents. The majority of those visited felt 
:that there was grave danger that many consolidated schools would 
;be forced to retrench during the coming school year either through 
. cutting the length of term or the teachers salaries. Indeed, a num- 
ber of schools have already been forced to use either one or both 
of these measures. 

Significant reductions in tax valuations have recently been made 
and will be felt more within the coming year than they have been 
. during the present one. The situation is serious. In many con- 
solidated districts the valuation is too small to support efficient 
graded and high schools. Small high schools are ambitious to present 
-varied programs, and a practice has grown up in the State by which 
the State department accredits schools for a given number of points 
or subjects. Many small high schools with few teachers are credi- 
ted for as many as 30 or 40 different subjects instead of the regu- 
lation 16 actually demanded by accrediting authorities. 

When small schools attempt to cover so much ground it follows 
that their teachers are teaching too many hours and too many sub- 
jects, or too many high school teachers are employed in proportion 



RURAL SCHOOLS 24T 

to the districts income and the elementary grades suffer either by 
being over-crowded or by having too many grades to the teacher. 
The committee was very much impressed with the number of small 
high schools which in the judgment of the observers were maintain- 
ed at the expense of the efficiency of the elementary schools. In 
several instances observed there were high school departments of 50 
to 75 pupils having four teachers and several small classes of from 
five to ten pupils, while in the elementary grades in the same school 
one teacher had charge of 40 or more children and two or more 
grades. 

Another sign of useless pretentiousness is the custom, which 
seems very general in consolidated schools and small independent 
districts, of employing a superintendent — so called — who is really a 
teacher since he spends most of his time teaching and practically 
no time super^dsing, or of employing a high school principal who 
again is a teacher, and a grade principal who again is a teacher. 

One consolidated school observed had a high school department 
of approximately 50 children with three teachers in the high school 
and four in the grades. Of the three high school teachers one 
was called a superintendent, one a principal, and one a teacher. The 
salaries received were measurably appropriate for such officials, but 
the work done by the superintendent and principal was of the same 
kind as that done by the teacher, namely teaching classes every hour 
during the school day. ^ 

Such an arrangement is a foolish waste of money. ' If the 
board employs a superintendent and pays him a superitendent 's 
salary, he should be free to do the superintendent's work, which 
is not that of teaching eight classes per school day. The same is 
true of the principal working on a principal's salary and doing 
the work of a teacher. The superintendent or principal who teacher 
full time earns the salary of a teacher but does not earn the salary 
of a superintendent or principal. Merely assuming the title of 
superintendent, does not assure earning the salary so long as the 
job is that of teaching. 

This must not be understood to indicate that superintendents 
and principals are either unnecessary in a school system or that they 
should not receive salaries higher than those accompanying teach- 
ing positions. Quite the contrary. It does mean, however, that 
the district should be large enough and rich enough to support a 
superintendent or a supervising principal, or there should be a com- 



248 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

bination of several smaller consolidated districts made, the combined 
territory of which is large enough to support such officials, who 
should be given the authority and the time to do the work of 
superintendent or principal and be paid accordingly. 

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS THE FIRST CONSIDERATION. 

High schools are essential parts of the educational scheme. 
They are and should be supplied for all rural as well as all city 
children. But in a democratic State elementary schools are the 
first essential and must not be sacrificed. Placing first grade chil- 
dren in a dark, unventilated basement room while the laboratory is 
located in a light second story one ; organizing schools in such 
a way that a primary teacher has two or more grades and 40 or 
more children, while high school teachers have classes of five or ten 
in a high school department offering 25 or more accredited subjects, 
shows poor management, and the actual result is that such a high 
school department is maintained at the expense of the children in 
the elementary schools. 

In most instances where these conditions were observed they were 
not only unwarranted, but unnecessary. It is far better in small 
high schools to offer fewer subjects with effective work in each 
than to aim to explore a large field of electives few of which can be 
well done, and for the maintenance of which the efficiency of the 
-elementary grades must be sacrificed. The trouble is in part one 
of school organization; in part one of inadequate support due to 
the formation of districts for elementary and high school purposes 
with insufficient valuation to maintain them properly. 

AMPLE RESOURCES SHOULD BE ASSURED. 

A study of the tax valuation of 107 consolidated districts re- 
porting to the State department in 1921-22 shows that there are 
29 Avith a valuation of $500,000 or less, 28 with valuations between 
$500,000 and $700,000, 24 with valuations between $700,000 and 
:$1,000,000, 22 between one and two millions, and four with valuation 
of over $2,000,000. Some district valuations are as low as $200,- 
000, several are between $200,000 and $300,000. Only one is over 
five and two over four millions. 

Of the 107 districts the average size is 36 sq. mi., the average 
valuation $770,000, the average cost of the maintenance $12,400, 
transportation costs on the average 24 per cent of the total mainten- 
ance expense. Centralized districts which aim to support element- 



RURAL SCHOOLS 249 

ary and high schools with less than $12,000 per year, and furnish 
transportation, must be managed very economically, particularly 
in view of the fact that a large percentage of the maintenance 
funds must necessarily be spent for transportation. 

Probably no stronger evidence of the need of a large proportion 
of total support from State funds can be furnished than that offer- 
ed by certain consolidated districts in the State which spend as 
much as 60 per cent of maintenance funds for transportation. The 
serious handicap which the rural consolidated districts must over- 
come as compared with the village or city districts of like resources 
shows clearly the need of increased State support if the goal of 
equality of educational opportunity is to be realized. 

An examination of the last report of the high school inspectors 
shows that of 131 centralized schools which maintain accredited 
high school departments 64 or 49 per cent are credited for more 
than 16 units. Of 21 graded schools listed in this report which 
are accredited 11, or 52 per cent, are accredited for more than 16 
units. In view of the small valuations and relatively small enroll- 
ment described above, it would seem the part of good judgment 
to offer fewer subjects and do better work in these small schools, 
at least until increased sources of revenues are found. 

TRAINING OF SUPERINTENDENTS AND PRINCIPALS OF 

CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS 

The consolidation of schools furnishes the physical environment 
which makes good schools possible, but does not in itself insure ef- 
ficiency. Those who occupy administrative positions in consolidat- 
ed schools need a practical but broad vision of their possibilities. 
The teaching personnel is still a very important factor in education. 

Oklahoma has 375 centralized schools. New ones are being 
rapidly established. The organization, management, courses of 
study in these schools offer special problems which are of growing 
importance to the educational welfare of the State. These problems 
are not being satisfactorily met. This statement is made with full 
recognition of the admirable service that many men and women in 
these positions are rendering in the face of trying circumstances. 
All the consolidated schools should be raised at least to the standard 
of the best in the near future. A well-trained body of men and 
women for the administrative positions of the consolidated schools 
is a necessity if this change is to be brought about. 



25fi PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

The following suggestions are made as a means to this end. 

(1) The State department of education in cooperation with 
the University of Oklahoma and the Agricultural and Mechanical 
College should maintain during the summer of 1923 a course at 
least six weeks in length at each of these institutions. This course 
should be organized to meet the needs of principals and superintend- 
ents of consolidated schools. It should occupy their full time and 
should be devoted to the administration, curriculum, and teaching 
problems found in this type of school. There should also be in- 
struction designed to give these teachers familiarity with the larger 
social and economic problems of the rural community in Oklahoma. 
Attendance at one of these courses should be required of all prin- 
cipals and superintendents of consolidated schools, and there should 
be a State grant to each one attending. 

(2) Summer instruction of the character suggested should 
be a regular feature in the institutions named, but will not be 
adequate. In both institutions named there should be strong de- 
partments of rural education devoted to the training of leaders for 
service in the rural schools of the State, including courses designed 
to meet the needs of those who are going into administrative posi- 
tions in the consolidated schools of the State. 

It has been suggested that both the University and the Agricul- 
tural and Mechanical College participate in this work for two rea- 
sons: 

(1) Each institution, because of the nature of its work, has a 
distinct contribution to make. 

(2) The number of persons demanded for administrative 
positions in the consolidated schools is large enough to justify 
the maintenance of work at two centers. 

Larger valuations; combination of two or more of the small 
and financially poor districts for the employment of a superintend- 
ent or supervising principal, with a plan for division of time and 
pro-rating of salary among the districts served; a strong teaching 
staff; better organization on the part of union graded and consoli- 
dated schools maintaining high schools, and concentration on fewer 
subjects; larger increments in the way of State aid, especially for 
transportation: All these are essential to make the consolidation 
movement a success in Oklahoma. 

Most of these needs can be taken care of best through the form 
of county wide administration of schools as recommended in Chap- 



RURAL SCHOOLS 251 

ter III. Strong professional leadership an deffective administration 
policies can then be provided and carried out to effective ends. 

TEACHERS HOMES. 

Teachers homes have been provided by a large number of the 
centralized districts, 159 centralized districts having reported on 
this item in 1921-22. Of these, 52 have teacher homes, and 94 have 
auditoriums in connection with, or as part of, the school building. 

There are 347 teachers homes in the State owned or rented 
by the districts and occupied by superintendents, principals, teach- 
ers, or janitors. Five of these homes are occupied by negro teach- 
ers, and maintained in connection Avith schools for colored chil- 
dren. » 

A STATE PROGRAM IN RURAL SECONDARY EDUCATION 

GUIDING PRINCIPLES. 

(1) The present consensus of expert opinion holds that it is 
the business of the locality to provide facilities for elementary and 
secondary education in accordance with its ability to pay for edu- 
cation, and that it then becomes the duty of the State to supplement 
local effort to such extent as is necessary to provide actual equality 
of educational opportunity to all children of the State in so far as 
is possible. 

This consensus of opinion has come about through observation 
of Aarious State experiments, beginning in complete local support 
of schools in our early history, and slow^ly evolving through various 
degrees of State aid administered according to a variety of schemes 
of distribution. 

(2) It is the province of organization in the State system of 
secondary schools to extend an effective type of education to the 
highest possible percentage of children of secondary school age 
in the most economical way. 

(3) It is the function of secondary curricula to offer such con- 
tent of subject matter as will contribute most surely to a realization 
of the objectives of secondary education (health, command of funda- 
mental processes, worthy home membership, vocation, citizenship, 
worthy use of leisure and ethical character) . 

(4) It is the function of instruction so to organize and present 
the subject matter of individual courses of the curriculum that for 
a particular group in a particular community the previously enum- 
erated objectives are realized. 



252 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY. 

Oklahoma is not providing equality of educational opportunity 
in the field of secondary education. 

A comparatively good high school education is available to 
children in independent districts but is not available to children 
outside independent districts. These inequalities exist in build- 
ings, equipment, instruction, length of school term, and accessibility 
of the school. Generally speaking, high school facilities in inde- 
pendent districts are relatively good. Outside of independent 
districts and a few favored counties, high school facilities are either 
poor or totally lacking. Here are some of the facts indicative 
of inequalities. ^ 

(1) Eighty per cent of all high school teachers are employed 
in independent districts where 41 per cent of the school enumeration 
occurs. 

(2) $13,378,828.18 are spent in independent districts where 
41 per cent of the children live, whereas $8,288,844.98 are spent in 
rural districts where 59 per cent of the children live. 

(3) $140.29 per capita is invested in buildings and grounds 
in independent districts as compared with $56.38 in villages, $34.88 
in consolidated schools, $59.48 in union graded schools and $27.86 
in ungraded rural schools. 

(4) In independent districts every child is in easy access of 
the school, whereas large areas occur in rural districts where 
children are more than 25 miles from any high school, cut off by 
very poor roads and a total absence of any means of transpor- 
tation to the school center. 

It cannot be argued that the schools are there but the boys 
and girls will not make use of the facilities provided. They do 
attend school where schools are reasonably effective and reasonably 
accessible. They do not attend where schools are poor and inac- 
cessible. 

The following figures show the percentage of children of high 
school age attending school in certain counties ; 

Per cent attending school. 

Age 
Group Alfalfa Garfield Jackson LeFlore Pushmataha Sequoyah Latimer 

14-15 95 91.3 81.7 76.2 67.6 64.2 79. 

16-17 74.2 62.3 62.9 44.6 42.7 40.9 52.6 

18-20 25. 24.9 22.8 12.7 11. 12.3 10.2 



RURAL SCHOOLS 253 

Alfalfa, Garfield and Jackson counties are types of counties 
where reasonably accessible schools are found. In Alfalfa county 
these schools have been established long enough to have exercised 
their full influence. The high percerjtages attending school tell 
their own story. 

LeFlore, Pushmataha, Sequoyah, and Latimer counties repre- 
sent the other type where schools are inaccessible and relatively 
ineffective. The low percentages enrolled in school speak eloquent- 
ly of the failure of these sections to provide opportunity for the 
rudiments of an education. 

In the last four counties listed above the percentage of stud- 
ents in high school is so low as to be negligible. Pushmataha county, 
A\^tli a school enumeration of 6,112, graduated approximately 100 
eighth grade students in 1921 from schools under the supervision 
of the coimty superitendent, 20 of the 100 are enrolled in high 
school this year. This means that less than one-half of one per 
cent of the children from rural districts outside independent dis- 
tricts find their way into high school in this county. When we 
consider that about 16 per cent of the high school enumeration 
is in high school, the State over, the failure of secondary education 
in comparable rural districts in the southeast and south west is 
startling. 

The following facts are indicative of the situation over the 
State as a whole. 

(1) The high schools of the State enroll 47,893 students. Of 
this number, 40,085 are enrolled in independent district high schools 
where only 41 per cent of the enumeration live. Since only 6,398 
transfers were issued in 1921 it is evident that, whereas 59 per 
cent of school children live outside independent districts, only 
14,206 were in high school as compared with 33,689 in high school 
from independent districts where only 41 per cent of the school 
enumeration is found. Stated in percentage, 41 per cent of the pop- 
ulation living in independent districts furnish 71 per cent of 
the high school enrollment, whereas the 59 per cent which is rural 
furnish only 29 per cent of the enrollment. 

(2) The 12th grades in independent districts enroll 5,547 chil- 
dren whereas 222 are enrolled in the 12th grade in village, consoli- 
dated, union graded, and ungraded rural high schools. 

(3) Twenty-eight per cent of the age group 14-20, inclusive, 
living in independent districts is enrolled in high school, while only 



254 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

8.2 per cent of the same age group living outside independent dis- 
tricts is enrolled in high school. 

(4) Forty students for each 1,000 of population living in in- 
dependent districts are enrolled in high school, as compared with 11 
for each 1,000 living outside independent school districts, and 23 
students for each 1,000 of total population in the State as a whole. 
Oldahoma is therefore, favoring her urban population in the matter 
of secondary educational advantages in the ratio of four to one. The 
percentage of the total population enrolled in high school in inde- 
pendent districts is high; higher than any State average, yet the 
percentage of the total population enrolled in high school from rural 
districts, outside independent districts, is exceeded by 36 State aver- 
ages. 

The 59 per cent of the State's population living outside in- 
dependent districts is getting only 38 per cent of the total education- 
al expenditure. They are getting a negligible share of the total ex- 
penditure for high schools. They are undoubtedly paying, in a 
majority of cases, in proportion to their ability to pay as measured 
from wealth and from income. 

Not only with reference to money spent, accessibility, and per 
centages of students being reached do inequalities evist. Inequali- 
ties exist in the kind of education offered in relation to need and in 
.the effectiveness of instruction in courses offered. Inequalities of 
instruction will always exist because of the personal element, but it 
should not be that one can say with postiveness that as a whole the 
rural group is poorly instructed as compared with the urban group 
and that curricula for rural high schools are poorly adapted to the 
needs of the students. 

These statements relative to instruction in rural high schools 
are made on a basis of observation of representative schools in 25 
counties and of the results of standard attainment tests. 

ORGANIZATION OF RURAL SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 

Under the present organization instruction in secondary grades 
is being offered in ungraded rural schools, union graded schools, 
consolidated schools, village schools and independent district schools. 
Any school district which maintains a four-year accredited high 
school in an incorporated town may become independent. As a re- 
sult many villages of a few hundred which have grown up along 
railroads or in localities favored by natural resources, or by a 
geographical location favorable to trade, have formed independent 



RURAL. SCHOOLS 255 

districts reserving to themselves the local advantages derived from 
corporate wealth or wealth derived from natural resources, at the 
expense of contiguous rural sections. 

Many of these independent district schools have less than 10 
teachers and are employing a local superintendent and principals 
at salaries more than double the salaries of class room teachers. 
The superintendents are little more than class room teachers in many 
cases, and money paid them as administrative and supervisory offi- 
cers is sheer waste. 

Under the present system many weak rural schools are attempt- 
ing high school work under conditions that make effective work 
impossible and the high school work is maintained at the expense of 
the elementary school. In 1919-20, 342 rural schools were doing 
work which was not approved by the State department. Of the 475 
approved schools many were not strong by any means. 

CONDITIONS ESSENTIAL TO EFFECTIVE WORK NOT PRO- 
VIDED. 

Schools were found in which as many as 70 pupils in the first 
4 grades were in charge of a single teacher. Grades 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 
10 were divided between two teachers. Grades 9 and 10 with fewer 
than 15 students were receiving more teaching time than grades 
5, 6, 7, and 8. No equipment for high school work was provided. 
The teachers were not qualified to give high school instruction. A 
possibly adequate teaching staff for the elementary school was, 
in attempting to give high school work, subtracting materially from 
the potential effectiveness of the elementary school for the sake 
of a high school training of little worth for a few pupils. 

Other schools were found in which a teacher having charge of 
grades 6, 7, and 8 with more than 50 pupils was also attempting one, 
in some cases two years, of high school work. High school per- 
iods were 15 to 20 minutes, the work of very small value. 

The usual situation in one and two teacher rural schools is 
that a relatively high percentage of time is given to a very few 
students in the seventh and eighth grades. In many schools one or 
two students in these grades receive more than one-third of the total 
time. The interest of 20 to 40 pupils sacrificed for a half dozen or 
less in the seventh and eighth grades. The legitimate instruction 
of comparatively large numbers is neglected in order that poor in- 
struction may be given to a very few. 



256 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

This condition might be justified upon the ground that the 
higher grades uniformly require more teaching effort per student 
and that costs mount continually through the educational system, 
if the instruction was productive of good in these grades, but the 
grade progress made in the seventh and eighth grades under these 
conditions is slight. Pupils find instruction unsatisfying and 12 per 
cent of them in schools in places of less than 200 leave the school 
during the seventh and eighth grades. That progress is slight 
is shown by the highly cumulative retardation as shown by standard 
tests. 

Undoubtedly much can be done through the development of 
a system of rural junior high schools to correct these conditions. 
Instruction in one teacher schools could be limited to the first six 
grades, and the seventh, eighth, and ninth grade students transport- 
ed to the junior high school centers. With an adequate teaching 
staff, material equipment, and concentration of numbers in these 
grades instruction could be made effective and per capita costs low- 
ered. The elementary grades would not be penalized, and the 
whole educative process would be improved. 

The schools approved for junior high school work should be 
rigidly held to a junior high school program. They should not low- 
er the general efficiency in an attempt to add a grade or grades 
for which they are not prepared. Students of senior high school 
attainment should be passed on to the centers where six year sec- 
ondary schools are maintained. 

TABLE 42. 
Number and Size of High Schools by Years. 



Year 


Total 


Graduates 


No. 


Schools 


Schools 


Schools 




Enumer- 




enrolling 


grad. 


reporting 




ation 




more than 


more than 










100 




10 




1910-11 


6,125 


614 




15 


17 


67 


1912-13 


14,214 


1,473 




29 


44 


274 


1914-15 


18,238 


1,993 




47 


47 


281 


1916-17 


26,852 


2,803 




56 


90 


394 



Table 42 indicates clearly that more than four-fifths of all 
high schools enroll less than 100 students, and more than two- 
thirds graduate less than 10 students yearly. A junior high school 
program grouping grades seven and eight with grade nine will 
materially increase the enrollment in high school grades. Less num- 



RURAL SCHOOLS 257 

eroiis senior high schools will also increase the enrollment per 
school in the upper grades and thus lower per capita costs. The 
table also shoAvs a tendency to multiply high schools as high school 
enrollment increases so that schools too small for economical or ef- 
fective work are being maintained. 

At present rural high schools outside of independent districts 
must depend upon three high school inspectors attached to the 
State department of education for supervision. The duties of these 
men are inspectorial rather than supervisory, and guidance in these 
schools where it is most needed is limited in the extreme. Cases of 
a professional type of supervision by county superitendents are rare 
indeed. Adoption of the county unit and the employment of a 
professional type of county superintendent with an adequate super- 
visory staff will materially improve the situation. Funds which 
now go into salaries of superintendents of small independent dis- 
tricts for administrative service would go far toAvards paying the 
expense of county system of supervision. 

ORGANIZATION FOR AGRICULTURE AND HOME ECONOMICS 

FOR RURAL COMMUNITIES. 

The State of Oklahoma accepted the Federal Vocational Act 
and under the provisions of this measure departments of A^ocational 
agriculture have been developed in 58 schools for white people 
and in 7 schools for colored people. The testimony of those in 
position to have intimate knowledge of the results of this work is 
in the main favorable. It is too soon to attempt a final evaluation 
of its worth but it is undoubtedly gaining the respect of the farmers 
and the school people of the State. 

There are some respects in which it appears possible to strength- 
en the work, and the following means to this end are suggested : 

(1) With the organization of a State board of education this 
body should be designated as the State board for vocational edu- 
cation, and the responsibility for the administration of this . work 
transferred to it. This change would call for a transfer of the 
director of vocational education and his assistants to the staff of 
the proposed commissioner of education. An arrangement of this 
kind will give a unity to the program of education of the State that 
is highly desirable. 

(2) In the development of the work in agricultural education 
relatively little attention has been given to part-time work for 
boys Avho have left school and are living on the farms of the State, 
s. s. 9 



258 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

With the formation of the proposed county organization for edu- 
cation it will be relatively easy to make provision for attaching 
to the office of the county superintendent of schools, an itinerant 
instructor qualified to give a valuable type of vocational instruction 
in agriculture to meet the needs of the group of boys from 14-21 
years of age who have left school. 

In most instances it will be possible for these boys to get 
away from their farm duties for a few weeks during the dull sea- 
son in order to attend a local short course. One instructor can han- 
dle several of these courses during a year and follow the supervised 
practical work of the young men on their home farms. It is 
desirable also that the teachers of agriculture in the existing depart- 
ments in the high schools undertake this work to a larger extent 
than they are now doing. 

This arrangement would make it possible to develop a very 
much more satisfactory basis for the work in agriculture in the 
seventh and eighth grade than now generally obtains in the State. 
It is impossible for the relatively untrained teachers of the country 
school to accomplish much of substantial value under the present 
arrangement. 

It is believed that the State should appropriate funds for the 
purpose of further development of the work in vocational agricul- 
ture in the high school departments and for a large development of 
part-time work by means of the suggested itinerant instructors. A 
program of this character will make it possible to reach larger num- 
bers of young people with a more effective type of vocational edu- 
cation in agriculture than is possible through the present system 
of State schools of agriculture. 

(3) Conditions surrounding the expenditure of the Federal 
funds for home economics are such that it is almost impossible to 
make use of them to develop work in this subject in the high schools. 
There is great need for encouragement of this work in the consoli- 
dated schools and on the rural schools of the State. To assist in 
accomplishing this end provisions should be made for liberal State 
aid and itinerant instructors who serve several centers as well 
as assist in the country schools. 

(4) There are rural high schools and consolidated schools 
which are not large enough to justify the employment of a full time 
instructor in vocational agriculture but in which some instruction 
of this kind is needed. In such cases some combination should be 



RURAL SCHOOLS , 259 

made ; the following suggestions are offered in order of their 
desirability : 

(a) A teacher of vocational agriculture can often be found to 
whom the science leading to part of it can be assigned; 

(b) If there are in the community boys who need instruction 
in vocational agriculture on the part-time basis, an instructor might 
be employed who could devote time to this work as well as that 
given in the school ; or the instructor might be assigned to teach vo- 
cational agriculture in two or more schools; 

(e) A superintendent or principal adequately prepared may 
be secured who can teach vocational agriculture. In making such 
selection it is important to safeguard the administrative interests 
of the district. Only such instructors should be employed as have 
specific preparation for school administration as well as for teaching 
vocational agriculture. It is suggested that a special license be re- 
quired of all who serve in the dual capacity of superintendent or 
principal and teacher of agriculture. 

(5) The county agricultural agents are doing considerable 
work under the name of boys' and girls' club projects with rural 
school pupils. In many instances the State requirement for in- 
struction in agriculture and home economics is met by pupils en- 
rolling in these clubs. There is no doubt that these agents can ren- 
der a valuable service in connection with agricultural instruction 
in the country school. This work should be held to an education 
basis and the county superintendents should assume administrative 
responsibility for its organization and development. The county 
agents should be used by the educational organization for the tech- 
nical instruction of teachers, and for supervision of the practical 
work so far as their time will permit of their rendering such serv- 
ice. 

CURRICULA. 

Curricula being administered in the rural high schools of Okla- 
homa are poorly adapted to the needs of the students. The favor- 
ite subjects are Latin, ancient history, mediaeval and modern his- 
tory, English, and mathematics. Of the accepted objectives of sec- 
ondary education (health, command of fundamental processes, wor- 
thy home membership, vocation, citizenship, worthy use of leisure, 
and ethical living) all except command of fundamental processes 
are being neglected. 



260 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

The history Avhich should contribute to citizenship is formal and 
no connection with present life is made. No definite health prog- 
ram was found in any school. Vocational guidance and vocational 
training are attempted in only a few schools. Music and art appre- 
ciation are neglected though it is through these subjects that edu- 
cation for leisure must proceed. Ethical character is a product 
of these objectives which are being neglected. 

BASIC PRINCIPLES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF CURRICULA. 

Oklahoma should develop curricula in the rural high school that 
make it possible to realize these objectives through the proper teach- 
ing of the subject matter provided. The following principles should 
guide. 

(1) A general curriculum for junior high schools with a body 
of subject matter to be regarded as a core of minimum essentials 
common to all curricula should be developed first. This should 
be the curriculum of small junior high schools enrolling less than 
75 pupils and employing two teachers only. 

(2) This curriculum should provide : 

(a) Three units of English 

(b) Three units of social science comprising geography, 
civics of the community type, and history. 

(c) Two units of mathematics. 

(d) One unit of appreciation of art and music. 

(e) One unit of vocational guidance for boys. 

(f) One unit of home economics for girls. 

(g) One unit of elementary science. 

(3) Specialized curricula in agriculture, home economics, in- 
dustrial arts, business, and college preparatory should be developed 
in the six year rural secondary schools. The number of specialized 
curricula, and the number of electives offered should be so planned 
as to avoid excessive teaching loads. 

(4) Integration of the jiuiior and senior high school currtcula 
should be insured through carrying English and social science as 
constants common to all curricula through the six years, and through 
so scheduling elective courses in home economies, agriculture, lan- 
guage, science, mathematics, business and industrial arts that a 
minimum of two units in one of these fields is possible in the 
senior high school for graduates of the junior high school. 

(5) In small schools, both junior and senior, the expedient 
of offering courses on alternate years where it is usual that sections 



RURAL, SCHOOLS 261 

are not too large for combination should be freely used. 

Oklahoma, at present, is organized on the basis of an eight year 
elementary school followed by a four year high school. Because 
of this fact suggested curricula designed to meet the needs of the 
small four year rural high school are presented below. A sug- 
gested daily schedule of recitation is also presented. 

Schedules A, B, and C, are suggested for use in the small four 
year high schools of Oklahoma. They are accompanied by daily 
programs worked out on the basis of uniform periods for certain 
laboratory and field subjects. These schedules and daily programs 
are adaptations of recommendations that were made by Dr. Alexan- 
der Inglis in the Indiana survey. 

It will be noticed that a great deal of use has been made of al- 
ternations. In some of the smaller schools it may be possible to 
carry it even farther, but this should not be practiced if it regularly 
results in high school classes of more than twenty-five pupils. 

Schedule A has been prepared with the idea that a year of 
home economics should be required of each girl in high school. 
This makes it necesary to offer first year home economics each year, 
as the classes in the larger three-teacher high schools are certain 
to be. to large if alternation is followed. It is suggested that agri- 
culture be elective. Schedule C, has been prepared for students 
not electing agriculture, or, in case one year of home economics 
is not required. . 

Scehdule B is designed to show the work taken by students who 
elect two years of agriculture or two years of homemaking. This 
it is believed is as much work in these fields as should be undertaken 
by most of the high schools. A few of the larger ones may offer 
four years of work in each of these subjects but they will need more 
than three high school teachers. 

From the daily program it will be noted that when the uniform 
periods of one hour each are used only one period daily is devoted 
to agriculture and home economics. Experience has sho^vn that 
very satisfactory work can be done with these subjects with a period 
of this length. The marked exception is when field trips are neces- 
sary in agriculture. To meet this situation the program is so ar- 
ranged that a second period may be used in this subject when neces- 
sary. It is believed that this suggested arrangement will make it 
possible to develop a very satisfactory grade of instruction in agri- 
culture and home economics in the rural high schools of the State. 



262 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



The present requirement of one-half day by the State board for 
vocational education will necessarily restrict the introduction of 
the work in these fields in the smaller schools. It is doubtful if 
the teaching needs of agriculture and home economics justify such 
a requirement. 

It is recognized that these suggested schedules and programs 
are not ideal. They are presented as suggestive of what may be 
done in the way of curricula planning and schedule making for par- 
ticular types of schools serving particular types of communities. 
It is believed that if they are accepted in principle, and teacher-train- 
ing institutions shape the preparation of their students with the 
needs of the small high school in niind, an appreciable improvement 
over the present situation will result. 



SCHEDULE A. 
Academic Curriculum with one year of Homemaking required of the Girls. 





1922 


1923 


1924 


1925 


YEAR 


12 3 4 


12 3 4 


12 3 4 


12 3 4 






Eng. I 


....X 


....X 


....X 


....X 


Eng. n 


X 


X 


X 




Eng. Ill 


X 


X.... 


X 


JX.... 


Eng IV. 


X.... 


X 


X.... 


X 


Civics 


....X 


....X 


....X 


....X 


Gen. Hist 


X 


X 


X 


X 


Am. Hist. & Govern 


X 


X.... 


X 


X.... 


Econ. & Soc 


X.... 


X 


X.... 


X 


Gen. Science 


X 


....X 


X 


...JC 


Biology 


X 


X.... 


X 


X.... 


Physics 


X.... 


X 


X.... 


X 


For. Lang. I 


....X 


X 


....X 


X 


For. Lang. II 


X 


X 


JC 


X 


Algebra 


X 


X 


X.... 


X.... 


Geometry 


X.... 


X.... 


X 


X 


Gen Math 










H. Mak. I 


....X _ 


....X 


....X 


....X 



Alternations: 

English III and IV 

American History and Government and Economics and Soc. 

Biology and Physics 

Algebra and Geometry (Irregular) 



RURAL SCHOOLS 



263 



SCHEDULE B. 
Curriculum with two yeai's of either Agriculture or Home Economics. 





1922 


1923 




12 3 4 


12 3 4 


English I 

English II 


X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X. 

X 

X 


X 

X 


English III 


X 


English IV 


X 


Civips 


X 


Gen. Hist 

Amer. Hist. & Govern 

Econ. and Soc 

Gen. Sc 


X 

X 

X 

X 


Biology 

Phvsics 


X 

X. 


For. Lang. I 

For. Lang. II 

Alerebra 












Geometry 

Gen. Math 

Agriculture I 




, 


X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 


X 

X 


Agriculture II. 


X 


Home Economics I 

Home Economics II 

Elective I 


X 

X 

X 


Elective II 


X 







Alternations: 

English ni and IV. 

Amer. Hist, and Govt, and Econ. and Soc. 
Biology and Physics. 
Agriculture I and II. 

Home Econ. I and II cannot well be alternated if one year of home econ. 
is required of all girls because of the size of the classes. 

SCHEDULE C. 
Curriculum for students taking neither Agriculture nor Home Economics. 



YEAR 


12 3 4 


1234 1234 


12 3 4 


English I 

English II 


....X. 

X 

X 

X.... 

...JX 

X 

X 

X.... 

X 

X 

X.... 

....X 

X 

X 

X.... 

....X 


....X X 

X X 

X X 

X X.... 

....X JC 

X X 

X X 

X X.... 

....X X 

X X 

X JC... 

X X 

X X 

X J c... 

X X 

....X X 


....X 

X 


English III : 

English IV 

Civics 

Gen. Hist 

Amer. Hist. & Govt 

Econ. and Soc 


X 

X 

....X. 

X 

X.... 

X 


Gen. Science 

Biology 


....X. 

X.... 


Physics 

For. Lang. I 


JC 

X 


For. Lang. II 

Algebra 


X 

X.... 


Geometry 

Gen. Math 


X 

....X. 







Gen. Math, is substituted for Home Econ. of Schedule A and 
Gen. Science alternates between first and second year. 
Alternations the same as in Schedule A. 



264 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

INSTRUCTION. 

English, social science, and vocational subjects are the most 
important fields of instruction in rural high schools. Because of 
their importance some suggestions follow which should serve to im- 
prove instruction and give to rural children in Oklahoma training 
that is more definitely related to their needs than is the case at 
present. 

English. Instruction observed in English in rural high schools 
was rather uniformily poor in that little opportunity was provided 
for practice in self-expression, and little of inspiration towards 
reading for appreciation was being done. There was more of 
restraint than of encouragement in self-expression. Time was 
spent in giving formal definitions and in reciting historical facts. 
There is need for much time spent in self-expresson with a view to 
forming good language habits through usage, and inspiration to 
read much literature that is of artistic worth. 

Methods of the socialized recitation should be introduced into 
English class rooms. Much supplementary reading material should 
be provided and teacliers should avoid the kind of instruction that 
makes English the special detestation of students. 

There is an apparent tendency to overwork the English teacher. 
Every student in the school commonly takes English. Cases were 
observed where teachers were handling 200 students daily in six 
courses in English. Some sections ran above 50. The right sort 
of English instruction demands much painstaking work in examining 
written work of students and individual conferences with students 
over shortcomings evidenced in the work. With too heavy teach- 
ing loads good work is impossible. 

Instruction in English should grow out of needs as evidenced by 
students' efforts at usage. It should aim primarily to lay bare 
bad habits in usage and correct them through opportunity for 
practice, culminating in habitual use of the correct form. In ad- 
dition, instruction should seek to develop the ability to use English 
effectively and in accord with accepted good practice. It is funda- 
mentally a matter of drill, vocabularly building, development of 
principles to explain practice, a knowledge of accepted form in the 
mechanics of composition and development of a real appreciation 
of good literature which will function in self directed habitual read- 
ing. 



RURAL SCHOOLS 265 

Social Science. Oklahoma has recognized a rural problem for 
some years. The State has realized that it is primarily dependent 
upon its agriculture. Evidences of these facts are seen in the 
State agricultural and mechanical college, the extension work be- 
ing done in rural communities Avith adult farmers and with 
farm boys and girls in club work, the acceptance by the State of 
the Smith-Hughes enactment and subsequent application of the 
provisions of that enactment principally to vocational agriculture, 
and the establishment and maintenance by the State of the State 
secondary schools of agriculture. 

MANY PRESSING PROBLEMS OF RURAL LIFE CALL FOR 

STUDY. 

In spite of this program rural life problems are still acute. Al- 
though production has increased largely the rural population has 
not gained in economic independence as a whole except through 
the rise of land values under the stimulus of increased population 
and the artificial stimulation of the war due to high prices. 

Tenancy is high. The State average is 51 per cent. County 
averages are above 70 per cent in a few cases. In Southern and 
Southeastern counties tenancy of the worst possible type prevails. 
"Movers" are encountered at all seasons. At certain seasons 
a general exodus occurs so that in many schools the student body 
changes by more than 70 per cent of the total. Tenancy increased 
by a total of 120,336 acres in the decade 1910-1920. 

Although a young State and relatively undeveloped agricul- 
turally there was an increase of only 1,796 farm operators in the 
decade 1910-1920, or an increase of rural population of only 11 
per cent during the period. In total percentage of population 
increase Arizona, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Florida, District of 
Columbia, Michigan, New Jersey, and Connecticut exceeded Okla- 
homa. There was an actual decrease of total population in 28 
agricultural counties of the State during the period, the highest per- 
centage of decrease occuring in Comanche Coimty where it amounted 
to more than 35 per cent of the total population. 

In certain counties holdings of agricultural lands by non-resi- 
dent owners have grown to serious proportions. Holdings of as high 
as 100,000 acres of the first agricultural lands are found. Estimate 
of such holdings in certain counties run as high as 25 per cent of 
the total of agricultural lands. 

Home life and food habits in certain agricultural sections are 



266 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

serious problems. Large areas occur where a home garden is a cur- 
iosity. Canned goods and meat and bread furnish the bulk of the 
diet. Malnutrition is clearly evidence by children in rather high 
percentages. Home comforts and sanitation are lacking. Okla- 
homa is exceeded by 26 States in the percentage of farm homes hav- 
ing telephones, lighting plants, or running water in the homes. 

The ratio of mortgage indebtedness to the total value of farm 
property increased 4.5 per cent in the decade. 

Twenty-six States in the Union have developed much higher 
percentages of farmers who make some use of cooperative organi- 
zations for selling or buying than Oklahoma. Whereas 50 per 
cent of the total of farmers in some Middle Western States make 
use of cooperative organizations only 3.1 per cent of the total of 
farmers of Oklahoma make such use. 

The conditions described above furnish problems which must 
receive attention in social science courses. Social and economic 
problems are the serious problems of rural life in the State. Okla- 
homa must give some attention in rural schools to land tenure; 
to home life ; to personal and community hygiene and sanitation ; 
to non-resident ownership of agricultural land in huge tracts; to 
the business side of agriculture, with emphasis upon cooperative 
enterprises; to social relationships, both individual and group rela- 
tionships; to problems of government affecting rural communities, 
particularly, and to the development of a satisfying leisure life 
of rural people. 

Rural life and agriculture in the State are not developing prop- 
erly. Oklahoma must consciously face the time when the mineral 
resources of the State which now give it life will begin to wane. 
Oil will not flow forever. If a satisfying rural life based on a per- 
manent and profitable agriculture has not been developed before 
these resources fail the State must inevitably be retarded in its prog- 
ress. The education of her rural people in citizenship and in the 
economics of agriculture are vital problems now being neglected. 

Material for teaching should be found through a determi- 
nation of the vital social and economic problems of the locality by 
study of the community life. A dominant aim should be to teach 
hoAV to use the community as a source of problems and data 
for the proper solution of these problems. 

Vocational subjects. Vocational guidance, vocational agricul- 
ture, and home economics are the important vocational subjects for 
til" rural high schools. 



RURAL SCHOOLS 267 

Vocational guidance should be required of boys in the seventh 
and eighth grades. Instruction should show the possibilities in 
specific agricultural vocations, and in other major occupations as 
business, mechanical trades, and the major professions. The ap- 
proach to these occupations should be agricultural. A fair chance 
to sample broadly applicable vocational skills and to test abilities 
in specific vocations should be afforded. 

Vocational agriculture implies that specific farm enter- 
prises rather than subjects be made the center about which in- 
struction is organized; that the practice jobs in these specified enter- 
prises be determined; that subject matter be specifically related to 
these practice jobs and that the natural sequence of practice jobs 
become the sequence of subject matter organization. 

The State department of vocational education should assign tech- 
nical subject matter experts the task of preparing analyses of the 
dominant agricultural enterprises of the State to serve as guides 
to instruction in vocational agricultural. Students should be offer- 
ed a unit of vocational work in one plant enterprise and a second 
unit of Avork in one animal enterprise in the ninth and tenth grades. 

Instruction in home economics should stress the selection of 
foods for balanced rations and the preparation of such foods, home 
devices for comfort and sanitation, home furnishing and decoration, 
sewing and selection of clothing with regard to suitability of fab- 
rics, personal hygiene, home nursing, and sanitation. At present 
stressing of the skills in sewing and cooking to the neglect of other 
matters is characteristic. 

In method, much more use of projects in homemaking should 
be made. The project in homemaking for girls should become as 
common as home projects in agriculture for boys. This implies 
that the teacher should make intimate contacts with the homes of 
students undergoing instruction. 

STATE SCHOOLS OF AGRICULTURE. 

Oklahoma in common with several other States committed it- 
self a number of years ago to the policy of providing State schools 
of agriculture of secondary grade. Originally six schools were 
established of which number the following are still in operation : 
Cameron School, Lawton; Conner School, Warner; Murray School, 
Tishomingo ; and the Panhandle A. & M. College at Goodwell. The 
last in addition to the work of secondary grade offers two years 
of instruction of collegiate grade. In each institution an eighth 



268 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

grade is maintained and at the Cameron school there is also a seventh 
grade. Since the establishment of these schools in Oklahoma the 
experience that has been gained in vocational instruction in agri- 
culture of secondary grade has shown conclusively that except 
for unusual circumstances there are more effective and more econ- 
omical methods of reaching prospective farmers. 

In 1917 the Federal Vocational Education Act was passed. One 
of its provisions includes Federal aid to States in developing pro- 
grams of agricultural education of secondary grade. The State of 
Oklahoma accepted the provisions of this legislation and has started 
the development of a program of agricultural education in connec- 
tion with the public school system of the State. These departments 
in which the instruction is offered have the advantage of being 
readily accessible to local students, thus making the instruction 
available without the expense of living away from home. They 
have the further advantage of making it easy to connect the work 
of the school with the practical demands of the home farms through 
the project method of instruction. 

In addition to the work that is offered in agriculture in the four 
State schools instruction in the usual high school subjects is offered 
and any policy that is suggested with reference to the future of these 
institutions should take cognizance of this fact. It should be recog- 
nized that since these schools were established there has been a 
marked development of high schools throughout the State and that 
in secondary schools facilities are much more readily available than 
they were ten or fifteen years ago. Any argument for the contin- 
uance of the State schools based on the fact that they offer high 
school instruction does not have the force now that it did a de- 
cade ago. 

At present none of the schools is adequately equipped to carry 
forward the work they are attempting. If they are to be continued 
it will be necessary for the State to improve the facilities thus call- 
ing for a considerable capital outlay. In addition the maintenance 
allowance is inadequate. 

When consideration is given to the marked growth that has 
taken place in connection with the development of agriculture in- 
struction as a part of the public school program of the State and 
the possibilities of its further development on an effective and econ- 
omical basis; to the rapid development of local high schools; and 
to the large outlays both for plant and instruction that are necessary 



RURAL. SCHOOLS 269 

it appears wise to recommend the ultimate discontinuance of all 
of these schools as State supported schools of agriculture. They 
should be put on a basis of local support with State aid and merged 
into the system of rural high schools. This action should be accom- 
panied by the use of State funds to encourage consolidation of 
schools, the development of more adequate local high school facil- 
ities, and an extension of the program of agricultural education in 
the directions indicated elsewhere in this report. 

The State schools of agriculture were established on the theory 
that the majority of rural boys attending high school would return 
to farming and that a vocational school of agriculture would best 
serve their needs. It was held, too, that this type of education 
would return a higher percentage of students to the farm thus 
tending to check the flow towards the cities and to improve rural 
life by sending large numbers of boys trained in the modern science 
of agriculture back to the farm. 

The history of these schools from this viewpoint has been dis- 
appointing. First, no school has ever sent a high percentage of 
students back to the farm. Second, in order to get students they 
have uniformly been forced to serve as an ordinary type of high 
school. They are not vocational schools of agriculture and never 
will be. It is safe to say that they should not be. 

TABLE 43. 

Showing Graduates Actually Entering Specific Occupations in Past, 

Number of Number of Per cent of 



Occupation 


Boys 


Girls 


Total 


Farming 


30 


23 


18.6 


Mechanical 






>M.>.... 


Business 


8 


2 


3.5 


Professions 


52 


50 


35.9 


College Students 


46 


46 


32.3 


Other occupations 


10 


17 


9.4 



Table 43 shows that, of 284 graduates of the State schools of 
agriculture whose record after graduation is known, 18.6 per cent 
are engaged in farming, 3.5 per cent in business, 35.9 in professional 
work, 32.3 per cent entered college and 9.4 per cent are in other 
occupations. 

Table 44 shoAvs that of 717 students expressing a choice of oc- 
cupations, 62 or 8.6 per cent prefer farming, 98 or 13.6 per cent pre- 
fer business, 144 or 20 per cent prefer a professional career, 80 or 



270 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

11.1 per cent prefer mechanical occupations, 274 or 38.2 per cent 
look forward to a college career, and 59 or 8.2 per cent prefer some 
other occupations. 

TABLE 44. 

Showing choice of occupation as expressed by students now en- 
rolled in the State schools of agriculture : 

Number of boys Number of girls Per cent of 



Occupation 


choosing 


choosing 


total 


Farming 


47 


15 


8.6 


Business 


73 


25 


13.6 


Professional 


35 


109 


20.0 


Mechanical 


59 


21 


11.1 


College students 


140 


134 


38.2 


Other 


24 


35 


8.2 



Total 378 339 100.00 

It is, of course, problematic just how much dependence can be 
placed upon an expressed choice of occupation by high school stu- 
dents. Since a high percentage of the students in these schools 
are over 18 years of age, however, we might expect rather definite 
leanings. Taken in comparison with the occupational history of 
284 graduates there is significance in the fact that high percentages 
look towards professional careers and actually enter upon pro- 
fessional work. High percentages look to a continuation of study 
in college and actually enter college. A low percentage prefers 
farming and only a small percentage actually return to the farm. 
It seems evident that more return to the farm than wish to do so. 
Probably lack of opportunity to get away accounts for this. 

We must recognize the fact that these schools are not turning 
out farmers. The majority of students who enter do not want and 
should not be given vocational agricultural education. The mass 
of those who want and need such training are not in high school. 
They must be reached through part-time instruction on the part of 
itinerant Smith-Hughes teachers and extension workers. 

It seems evident that these schools should develop not as purely 
vocational schools of agriculture and homemaking but as compre- 
hensive high schools offering a broad program of studies and using 
an agricultural approach to life problems of great variety. The 
students are not going back to the farm. They should not be forced 



RURAL SCHOOLS 271 

to go back. They have a right to free occupational choice facilitated 
by a broad high school training. 

These schools are in direct competition with local high schools 
in junior high school grades in many communities at the present 
time. They draw students away from the local school under the 
guise of offering a college education. The men at the head of the 
institutions style themselves president. They speak of the schools 
as colleges. The schools are generally referred to in the commun- 
ities where they are located as colleges. Many students think they 
are getting a college education, when as a matter of fact they are 
getting at present a very poor high school training. In fairness to 
the public, to students, and to real colleges the heads of these schools 
should be termed principals and the institution they are administer- 
ing referred to as high schools. 

CONTROL OF STATE SCHOOLS OF AGRICULTURE. 
Ilj has been shown that these schools are not vocational schools 
of agriculture primarily. The theory that they should serve as 
purely vocational schools of agriculture is probably responsible for 
their being placed under the State board of agriculture at the time 
of their establishment. They are serving primarily as rural high 
schools, however, and should serve as strong, comprehensive rural 
high schools. Accordingly, it is recommended that they be placed 
immediately under the State department of education, so that they 
may be developed in accord with the State program in rural sec- 
ondary education, and finally placed upon a basis of local support 
with State aid. This should remove the friction that occasionally 
has developed with reference to these schools. 

ADMINISTRATION OF LAND-OWNING RURAL HIGH 
SCHOOLS OF THE BOARDING TYPE. 

On the assumption that these schools will be maintained for 
some years cither as State schools or as locally supported schools 
with State aid, and on the assumption that it may be found advis- 
able to establish other schools of the boarding type in certain agri- 
cultural sections, the following recommendations as to administra- 
tion are made touching upon matters which are not receiving 
proper attention. 

Three distinct units are to be dealt with in schools of this type : 
(1) The school proper; (2) the school farm; (3) the boarding 
department. Good administration demands that these three units 



272 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

be so correlated that each contributes to economy of operation and 
effectiveness of instruction in vocational subjects. 

The school farm should afford a means of practice work out of 
which instruction in agriculture may grow. This is possible through 
a group project method. The school farm should provide adequate 
supplies of A^egetables, fruit, milk, meat, and poultry products for 
the boarding department. These should be supplied at market 
prices and not as gifts. The farm should exemplify a sensible, com- 
mercial system of farm enterprises adapted to the region. An ac- 
curate, usable system of cost accounting should be applied to each 
enterprise that Avill serve to determine costs and profits, and also 
serve as models for students to use when entering upon farming as 
a vocation. 

Students should receive all profits derived from enterprises 
carried as projects by themselves. Crops grown on the farm should 
afford a source of supply of good seed adapted to the locality. The 
farm should develop and distribute good livestock as a means of 
improving local herds. A separate portion of the farm should be 
given over to experimentation whereby vital agricultural problems 
of the locality are solved. 

The boarding department should provide a means of corre- 
lating instruction and practice in homemaking. It is poor economy 
to have the boarding department independent of the home econ- 
omics department as is now the case in all the schools of the State. 
The equipment and quarters of the boarding department furnish 
good equipment and quarters for instruction in practical home 
economics. The home economics department should, in cooperation 
with the management of the boarding department plan menus, for- 
mulate budgets, buy supplies, keep accounts, plan the dining room 
service, work out housekeeping methods, and be jointly responsible 
for sanitation. 

In practice cooking real dishes in edible portions should be 
cooked on real kitchen devices for actual consumption on the table. 
The cooking of tidbits and samples on laboratory devices which 
never will see the inside of a real kitchen is of doubtful value. 
Home management which is the large value in the work is best 
taught through participation in actual management of a real enter- 
prise such as the boarding department. 

Good administration of these schools will provide for follow-up 
vocational records of graduates and continual revision of courses 
offered and content of courses based upon such vocational record. 



RURAL SCHOOLS 273 

Good administration of these schools will make of them local 
centers for extension Avork under the Smith-Lever service and 
mother schools for the junior high schools of the locality. 

THE UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY SCHOOL AND THE 
OKLAHOMA MILITARY ACADEMY. 

Much of what has been said with reference to the District Agri- 
cultural Schools applies with equal force to the University Prepar- 
atory School, at Tonkawa, and the Oklahoma Military Academy, at 
Claremore. At the dates when these schools were established, it 
was thought that the maintenance of secondary schools of these 
types by the State was necessary to the proper development of 
public education in Oklahoma. The conditions then obtaining, how- 
ever, no longer exist. With the subsequent improvements which 
have taken place, and with the development of public high schools 
along lines recommended in this report, it is difficult to see the nec- 
essity for the continuance of these schools as now constituted un- 
der State support and control. If they are to be continued as State 
institutions, their functions should be defined more specifically, in 
harmony with the general educational program suggested in this 
report. 

INSTRUCTION IN AGRICULTURE. 

As stated in a previous section it is felt that two units of voca- 
tional instruction are all that are advisable in the high school years. 
These units should be organized about one dominant plant enter- 
prise and one dominant animal enterprise of the region. The or- 
ganization should be determined by a job analysis, as illustrated in 
bulletins No. 68 Agricultural Series No. 9 and No. 74, Agricultural 
Series No. 10, Federal board for vocational education. 

The administrative heads and teachers of agriculture in these 
schools maintain that instruction related to projects in these State 
schools is impossible. Yet the fact remains that the only successful 
schools of the type, and they are few, have worked out a successful 
group project system. 

As an example of the possibilities of the group project method 
consider the course in dairying. All of these schools have dairy 
herds, in every case cared for by boys who are paid for the work. 
They may be taking dairying— they may not. In no case is any 
attempt made to teach dairying as related to the practice work of 
caring for the herd. 



274 PUBLIC ETDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

Conditions here are ideal for the best possible kind of group 
project work. If the boys taking dairying elect it, as they should, 
because they expect to practice dairying, the instructor should 
assign them the task of running the dairy under his supervision and 
give them the profits of the enterprise. The boarding department 
furnished a good market. The work should be placed on a definite 
commercial basis. Every item of feed and other expense should be 
charged, and the market price for the products collected from the 
boarding department. 

The class should be divided into a production section having 
thei care of the herd and milking and the delivery of whole milk to 
a second manufacturing section, who will pay for the milk on a fat 
basis, convert it into manufactured products, and sell these products 
in turn to the boarding department or such other markets as are 
available. The jobs should be rotated so that every boy has a 
chance to acquire skill at every specific job in dairying. The length 
of time a boy is kept on a job should depend upon the time required 
for him to acquire a certain skill at the job. The making of a 
profit should be a major factor in judging the success of the group 
as students of dairying. 

Similar group projects are possible in SAvine, poultry, beef, 
cattle, gardening and field crops. In the case of long season crops 
difficulties are introduced in the matter of care of the crops during 
vacation but the difficulties are not impossible of solution. 

Through such a system of instruction many of the shortcomings 
of the home project method are avoided. Supervision is easy. Stu- 
dents do not waste so much time in field trips getting to and from 
farms where materials illustrative of instruction are found. Students 
are not limited by cost consideration in choosing their projects; 
opportunity to teach cooperation is provided in the best possible 
way. Land-owning rural high schools will survive only through 
adoption of some such real vocational method. 

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS CONCERNING 

RURAL SCHOOLS. 

(1.) The elementary and secondary school system, teacher pre- 
paring institutions and functions, and certificating authority should 
be under the direction and supervision of the State board of educa- 
tion. The board should be composed of 7 or 9 members elected at 
large on a non-partisan basis and should serve long terms, prob- 
ably 7 or 9 years. 



RURAL SCHOOLS 275 

(2.) The State Superintendent should be appointed by the 
board for a term and at a salary to be fixed by the board, and should 
be its executive officer to whom educational matters are delegated 
for execution. The board itself should function as a legislative body. 

(3.) A Division of Rural Schools should be established in the 
State department of education with one director in charge and at 
least 3 assistants. 

(4.) Present school district lines and organizations should be 
discontinued, except in the case of certain districts meeting stand- 
ard requirements of the State board of education as to territory, 
valuation, and educational efficiency. All other districts now des- 
ignated or ungraded rural, union graded, consolidated, and inde- 
pendent should together form county systems of schools adminis- 
tered by county boards of education. 

(5.) The county board of education should be composed of 5 
or 7 members elected at large for terms of 5 or 7 years each, one term 
expiring each year. They should have general control over all 
schools of the county outside of independent districts, have power 
to levy a county-wide school tax to be apportioned on an equalized 
basis as between independent districts and county school districts, 
as set forth in Chapter III, and should appoint as executive officer 
of the board a county superintendent of schools. 

(6.) The county superintendent should be appointed for a 
term and salary designated by the board; should hold an adminis- 
trative and supervisory certificate as provided in the certification 
law; should be a person of executive ability, broad training and 
culture, and successful administrative experience, selected without 
regard to residence within or without the State or county, but solely 
because of special fitness for the position. 

(7.) The county board, upon the nomination of the County 
superintendent, should appoint the supervisors and teaching staff; 
should levy a special tax for the support of the schools under its 
administrative control, and apportion it among the schools in the 
county according to their needs ; provide buildings and equipment ; 
locate school buildings and sites; fix the county salary schedule 
w^ithin the law; and perform all other duties usually assigned to 
boards of school trustees. 

(8.) An adequate supervisory and clerical staff, suitable office 
accomodations and equipment, and traveling expenses for super- 
intendents and supervisors should be provided by the county board. 
Professional supervisors should be selected because of special ability. 



276 PUBLIC ETDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

preparation, and successful experience, and should be paid salaries 
commensurate with the importance of their work. They should be 
nominated by the county superintendents and act as his assistants. 
At least one supervisor to every 40 teachers in addition to the first 
25 should be employed; one supervisor for every 25 teachers is a 
better allocation. 

(9.) As soon as State and county departments are properly 
staffed a Division of School Attendance should be established in the 
State department, which should work with and through the county 
department of education. The responsibility for the enforcement 
of the compulsory education law should be assumed by this divi- 
sion. A new system of keeping attendance records and reports and 
of encouraging better school attendance should be inaugurated. 

(10.) A new course of study should be prepared by the State 
board of education providing specifically in content and organiza- 
tion for the needs of rural schools of all the different types prevalent 
in the State. Specific suggestions are given on pages 231-232. 

(11.) A Division of School Buildings should be established in 
the State department, which should cooperate with the county de- 
partments of education. All new buildings and repairs for amounts 
greater than $400 should be submitted by the county superintendent 
for approval by the State building inspectors. These officers should 
be empowered to condemn present buildings which do not meet the 
standards and requirements fixed by the State board of education. 

(12.) Special provision for the training of teachers for rural 
schools should be made at an early date. Standards for teacher 
preparing courses should be set by the State board of education 
and requirements should conform to the provisions of the certifica- 
tion law and be gradually increased as rapidly as is consistent with 
the demand for teachers and the welfare of the schools. As soon 
as possible requirements for teaching certificates, standards for 
teacher preparing courses, and entrance requirements to classes and 
institutions preparing teachers should be equivalent for rural and 
urban schools. 

(13.) The movement for centralizing schools needs direction. 
The administrative organization suggested above will provide this. 
Even with liberal State aid for equalization of educational appoint- 
ments and tax burdens, it will probably be necessary for the State 
to assume all or a large proportion of the expense of transportation. 
The growing number of centralized schools indicate that there is a 



RURAL, SCHOOLS 277 

demand for special attention to their needs in organization, manage-^ 
ment, instruction, and course of study on the part of State auth- 
orities. Definite suggestions to this end are offered on pages 242-243v. 

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS CONCERNING 
RURAL HIGH SCHOOLS. 

(1) Oklahoma should develop a system of rural junior high 
schools whereby instruction in grades 7, 8, and 9, may be made 
effective and elementary schools relieved of the burden of the work 
in grades 7 and 8. Work in these grades is now maintained at the 
cost of efficiency in the first six grades. 

(2) The independent district system should be abandoned and 
the county unit system substituted under proper conditions of 
State aid. Inequalities of educational opportunity will thus be 
materially reduced. 

(3) The State board for vocational education should be made 
a part of the State department of education thus avoiding the pos- 
sibility of conflicting educational policies. 

(4) Oklahoma should give much more attention to the devel- 
opment of part-time work in vocational agriculture and in home 
economies. 

(5) Itinerant teaching on the part of vocational instructors 
should become general in sparsely settled agricultural counties. 

(6) Club work with boys and girls under the Smith-Lever 
service should be placed on a definitely educational basis under 
the direction of county superintendents. 

(7) Curricula definitely adapted to the needs of rural boys 
and girls should be developed in rural high schools. 

(8) Local administration in high schools should make such 
use of alternation and rotation of subjects in the curriculum as to 
insure that classes are of the proper size and a proper teaching load 
is maintained. 

(9) A complete reorganization of instruction in English is 
desirable. 

(10) Instruction in social sciences should be emphasized and 
should grow out of problems laid bare by a study of the community. 

(11) Vocational guidance rather than vocational training 
should be sought in the junior high school years. 

(12) The State department should immediately undertake 
the task of organizing vocational courses in agriculture about the 
practice jobs of the dominant agricultural enterprizes of the State. 



278 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

(13) Instruction in home economics should make general use 
of a project method and get away from the academic method now 
prevailing. 

(14) State schools of agriculture should be placed on a basis 
of local support with State aid. 

(15) State schools of agriculture should be placed under the 
control of the State department of education so long as they oper- 
ate as State schools. 

(16) The State schools of agriculture should conform to the 
recommendations for curricula in comprehensive senior high schools. 

(17) Administration of rural high schools of the boarding 
type should bring about a close correlation between the three units 
which make up the schools, — the school proper, the farm, and the 
boarding department. 

(18) A real vocational method in agriculture should be fol- 
lowed at such schools through a group project method.- 

(19) Land owning rural high schools should become a center 
for agricultural extension work. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
VILLAGE AND CITY SCHOOLS 

PLACES VISITED. 

Members of the Survey Staff visited the village and city school 
systems of the following places, and held conferences with school 
executives, board members, teachers, and, wherever possible, with 
groups of citizens : 



Bartlesville 

Haileyville 

Hartshorne 

McAlester 

Ponca City 

Pauls Valley 

Miami 



Enid El Reno Alderson 

Dos Norman Blackwell 

Yukon Dewey Ardmore 

Krebs Tulsa Sapulpa 

Bates Purcell Muskogee 

Moore Chickasha Okmulgee 

Shawnee Oklahoma City Welch 

Guyman Lawton 

The report which follows attempts to represent typical condi- 
tions and practices rather than to describe the situation existing in 
any particular school or system. Through the cooperation of a group 
of school superintendents, a survey of the results of instruction was 
made by means of standard mental and educational tests in the fol- 
lowing subjects: General Intelligence, Spelling, Reading, Hand- 
writing, English Composition, Arithmetic, and Algebra. State and 
local reports were frequently consulted and constitutional and legis- 
lative enactments affecting village and city school systems were 
carefully scrutinized. 

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS. 
The following recommendations affect particularly village, town 
and city school units. Following each recommendation will be 
found a more detailed statement giving the data upon which it is 
based. 

REMOVAL OF RESTRICTIONS ON TAX LEVY. 
(1) Amend or revise the Constitution in such a manner as to 
permit a school unit to raise sufficient funds to maintain standard 
schools. Do this in one of two ways : 



279 



280 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

(a) Permit a unit to raise any amount it desires with no con- 
stitutional or legislative limitations whatsoever. Allow the levy 
to include expenditures for capital outlay (new buildings, etc.,) as 
well as consumable expenditures. At least, remove the constitu- 
tional limitation and leave the maximum to the legislature. 

(b) If the foregoing is thought to be impossible, amend or 
revise the constitution so as to permit a school unit to raise at least 
25 mills for all purposes, (new building included), and at least 15 
additional mills by a special vote of the local unit. If a unit has 
once voted to levy any or all of the 15 additional mills, the permit 
to levy should remain a power of the board until revoked in the 
same manner in which it was granted. 

DISCUSSION. 

Why is more money needed for the schools? 

(a) The school year is longer. Twenty years ago the average 
was scarcely four months. Today, the average in Oklahoma is 7.3 

months. 

(b) School buildings cost more today than formerly, and are 
larger, more sanitary, permanent, and include a greater variety of 
rooms for special work. 

(c) Teachers are better trained and therefore rightfully de- 
mand better salaries. 

(d) More children go to school e'Specially in grades 7 to 12. 
There were very few high schools in the State 20 years ago. In 1912 
there were only 29 fully accredited high schools in the State; in 
1920 there were -262. 

(e) Children stay in school longer, due to child labor and 
attendance laws, and to better educational traditions in the family. 

(f) Civilization is growing more and more complex, and there- 
fore education, which is both life and a preparation for life, is cor- 
respondingly complex. 

(g) The purchasing power of the dollar has decreased. 

The Constitutional limitation was enacted at a time when our 
public schools were just beginning to grow in popularity. It was 
impossible to predict the startling growth and development of the 
last few years. The makers of the Constitution, if they could have 
foreseen the development of today probably would not have placed 
a 5 mill limitation in the constitution. The average levy for all the 
districts of the State in 1921-22 was 9 mills. Many districts levy 
the limit 15 mills. 



VILLAGE AND CITY SCHOOLS 281 

All new buildings must be built from money derived from the 
sale of bonds. This means a large interest charge. Furthermore, 
it is impossible to predict what may happen in the future. Surely, 
if a limitation upon the taxing power is necessary, it is wiser to 
leave it to the legislature than to have it fixed in the Constitution. 

The limit should be higher than is now prescribed. How much 
higher? No one can answer exactly, except that it should be as high 
as the people of any district desire to go. The "WILL to provide 
education is the only sure measure of what WILL be provided. The 
investigators were repeatedly told that the people of a given school 
district want better schools, and are willing to pay for them if the 
basic law would permit. 

A LONGER SCHOOL YEAR. 

(2) Section 58 of the school laws should be repealed, and a 
law enacted requiring all school districts to maintain at least 8 
months in 1924-25 ; and 9 months thereafter. 

DISCUSSION. 

The present law requires only 3 months, but permits any length 
of term the district board may vote. As a matter of fact, conditions 
are better than the law requires. Only one per cent of the districts 
maintain only 4 or less months of school; 4 per cent maintain 5 
months school or less; 25 per cent 6 or less; 46 per cent 7 or less; 
86 per cent 8 or less; and 99 per cent 9 or less. Stated in another 
way, 13 per cent maintain 9 months of school ; 40 per cent maintain 
8 months; 25 per cent maintain 7 months of school; 16 per cent 
maintain 6 months; 3 per cent maintain 5 months; and 1 per cent 
maintain 4 months of school or less. None maintain less than three 
months. 

The average length of the school year for different types of dis- 
tricts was in 1921-22 : 

Independent districts 9 months, with average levy of 14.5 mills 

Village districts 

Consolidated districts 

Union Graded districts 

Ungraded districts 

Average for all kinds 

It is clear from these data that the law concerning the length of 
the school term should be revised to conform more nearly to the 
average practice and to guide that practice to better standards. 



8% 




" " 13 


7 




" " 14 


7 




" " 11 


7.2 


»» 


" " 8 


7.3 


>J 


9 



282 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

LIMITING THE POWER OF THE EXCISE BOARD. 

(3) Amend or revise Section 443 in such a manner as to make 
it mandatory upon an Excise Board to levy whatever rate, within 
the law, a school Board may decide that it needs to run the school 
properly. If a school Board fails to appropriate a sufficient sum the 
excise board may exercise the right to increase the appropriation. 

DISCUSSION. 

The present law (Section 443) gives the Excise Board the right 
to require a Board of Education to make "further detailed and 
itemized" statements of appropriation and "to impose and pre- 
scribe such additional restrictions as to expenditures of any item of 
appropriation as it may deem meet and proper". This restriction 
should be removed. A Board of Education knows the needs of a 
school system better than any other board. It should, therefore, 
have absolute rights under the law making it independent of any 
and all other governmental restrictions. The present law subor- 
dinates the powers of the Board of Education to those of the Excise 
Board. It makes it possible for an Excise Board to review, revise, 
and restrict a Board of Education in the performance of a function 
which by law is the duty of a Board of Education rather than the 
duty of an Excise Board. While gross abuses are not common, 
nevertheless complaints are frequent that Excise Boards are actu- 
ally using the law to reduce appropriations quite without regard 
to the recommendations! of Board of Education and their officers. 

REVISION OF LAWS PERTAINING TO CERTIFICATION OF 

TEACHERS. 

(4) The present system of issuing teachers certificates should 
be gradually abolished, and the plan herein proposed substituted 
for the present system as rapidly as possible. The plan proposed 
is based upon the following principles : 

(a) The authority to issue certificates should be removed as 
far as possible from undue personal and local influences. 

(b) The authority should be centralized rather than divided. 

(c) The number and kind of certificates should be reduced 
to the minimum. 

(d) The terminology of the certificate should, so far as pos- 
sible, describe the certificate. 

(e) Certificates should be issued on the promotional basis. 
As a teacher's experience and training accumulates she should be 

able to pass from a lower to a higher certificate. 



VILLAGE AND CITY SCHOOLS 28S 

(f) Greater stress should be placed upon training, and less 
upon marks in examinations and experience. 

(g) The period of validity of all kinds of certificates should 
be limited. 

(h) Renewal of certificates should be based upon evidence of 
additional professional attainment. 

(i) A satisfactory statement concerning the health of the 
candidate should be required before a certificate is granted or re- 
newed. 

(j) In a State's plan for teacher certification a goal should 
be set which is to be attained in a definite period of years. Usually 
ten years is sufficient. The method of attaining a goal should be 
so arranged as to be fair to the great majority of teachers now 
teaching and the others who will enter the profession later. Through- 
out the United States the insistent demand for better trained teach- 
ers is resulting in the establishment and the attainment of the 
following goals : 

(i) For all elementary schools (Kindergarten and grades 1 to 
6 inclusive) the teachers should be required as soon as possible to 
have not less than 2 years of normal school training, or* its equiva- 
lent, based upon graduation from an accredited four-year high 
school. Certificates should be based upon institutional training 
rather than upon examinations. Ultimately elementary school teach- 
ers should be as well prepared as high school teachers. 

(ii) For all upper grades, intermediate or junior high schools 
and senior high schools, (grades 7 to 12 inclusive) the teachers 
should be required as soon as posisble to have not less than four 
years of normal school, college, or university training, which should 
include professional courses in secondary education, based upon 
graduation from an accredited four-year high school. 

(iii) For all supervisors, principals and other administrative 
officers there should be required not less than from one to three 
years training beyond the training required of the teachers under 
them, which training should include problems in organization, super- 
vision, and administration. 

Based upon the foregoing principles, the following certification 
plan for the period 1924 to 1934, inclusive, should be adopted and 
put into effect. This plan covers the issuance of certificates to all 
types of elementary teachers (primary, kindergarten, general, etc.) 
and provides, for a gradually increased minimum requirement of 
academic and professional training as a prerequisite for the lowest 
grade of elementary certificate. 



284 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



CERTIFICATION PROGRAM 1924 TO 1934. 

On and after January 1, 1924, and subsequent stated dates, no 
teacher shall be employed in any public school in the State of Okla- 
homa who does not possess a certificate requiring the minimum 
training- set opposite the year. 



Year 



Required 

Academic 

Training 



Required 

Professional 

Training- 



Kind of 
Certificate 



1924 1 year High School 



1925 2 year High School 



192'6 3 year High School 



1927 4 year High School 



1928 High School Graduate 



2929 High School Graduate 



1930 High School Graduate 



1931 High School Graduate 



9 weeks professional 
or 8 semester hours 

9 weeks professional 
or 8 semester hours 

9 weeks professional 
or 8 semester hours 

9 weeks professional 
or 8 semester hours 

18 weeks professional 
16 semester hours 

27 weeks professional 
24 semester hours 

1 year Professional 
Training 

1 Year Professional 
Training 



1932 High School Graduate 1 year plus 18 weeks 



1933 High School Graduate 1 year plus 27 weeks 



1934 High School Graduate 2 years 



Lowest Grade 
Elementary 

Lowest Grade 
Elementary 

Lowest Grade 
Elementary 

Lowest Grade 
Elementary 

Lowest Grade 
Elementary 

Lowest Grade. 
Elementary 

Lowest Grade 
Elementary 

Lowest Grade 
Elementary 

Lowest Grade 
Elementary 

Lowest Grade 
Elementary 

Lowest 'Grade 
Elementary 



VILLAGE AND CITY SCHOOLS 285 

LIMITATIONS OF PRESENT CERTIFICATION LAW. 

The system of certificating teachers is an important factor af- 
fecting the character of instruction provided in any State. No sys- 
tem of certificating teachers should stand by itself. It is merely 
one means of establishing and maintaining standards for the devel- 
opment of a properly qualified teaching force in the State. It 
should be properl}' related to the amount and character of training 
and experience which teachers possess and also to the minimum 
salary paid to teachers. 

An analysis of the laws and practices pertaining to the granting 
of certificates in Oklahoma show that there are four certificating 
agencies in the State. 

(a) The office of the State Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion. 

(b) The State Board of Education. 

(c) The County Board of Examiners. 

(d) The City Board of Examiners. 

The powers, duties, practices, and efficiency of these four 
agencies vary widely. Much confusion exists due to the failure to 
adopt a set of guiding principles and to centralize authority in com- 
petent hands. 

The tendency throughout the United States is towards cen- 
tralization in the matter of granting teacher certification. Origin- 
ally Boards of Education of each school district had the power to 
certificate. Gradually, this gave way to certification by County 
Boards and County Superintendents. During the last quarter of a 
century the function of the State in this matter has been more fully 
recognized, and finally, teachers' training institutions themselves 
have been granted certain powers of certification, subject only to 
the supervision and regulation of their governing Board, or the 
State Department of Public Instruction. The tendency throughout 
the United States is towards centralizing authority in the office of 
the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. It then may be 
delegated by that office to teacher training institutions and County 
Superintendents under certain conditions. 

The present County and City Board of Examiners is unneces- 
sary and cumbersome. The examination questions can be prepared 
and graded for all of the counties and cities of the State in one cen- 



286 PUBLIC E?DUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

tral office, namely, the office of the State Superintendent of Public 
Instruction. This assumes that that office is a professional rather 
than a political one. This will promote both economy and uni- 
formity. One person can conduct the local examination. Local 
Boards of Education should possess and exercise the right of re- 
ceiving higher qualifications than those received for certificates. 
The possession of a certificate should not be used to compel a local 
Board to hire a teacher who does not otherwise meet the require- 
ments of the local board. 

NUMBER AND KIND OF CERTIFICATES. 

(5) The law should provide that the State Board of Education 
shall make regulations concerning the number and classes of teach- 
ing certificates, and shall fix regulations for the same in addition 
to the minimum prerequisites fixed by law; that the board shall 
provide for at least seven classes of certificates, with at least two 
grades of each, namely: Standard and Provisional, depending on 
qualifications demanded. The classes of certificates should be at 
least the following : 

1. Certificates in school administration, to be exacted of State 
and county superintendents. 

(a) Standard. 

(b) Pro visional J 

2. Certificates in Supervision. Exacted of Supervisors, (a) 
and (b). 

3. Principal's certificate. 

(1) Elementary schools, (a) and (b). 

(2) High schools, (a) and (b). 

4. High school Teachers' Certificates. Prescribing the sub- 
jects to be taught. (a) and (b). 

5. Elementary Teachers' Certificates. 

(1) Primary, (a) and (b). 

(2) Intermediate, (a) and (b). 

(3) Grammar grade, (a) and (b). 

6. Special subject certificates in Kindergarten, Music, Manual 
Training, etc. (a) and (b) for each. 

7. Special Rural School Certificates. (a) and (b). 

High school certificates should be valid in high schools, and in 
grammar grades of elementary schools ; elementary school certifi- 
cates, and rural school certificates should be valid in elementary 
schools — rural or city; special subject certificates should be valid 



VILLAGE AND CITY SCHOOLS 287 

for teaching the subject for which issued only. Requirements 
for elementary teachers of the different kinds and special rural 
school certificates should be equivalent and certificates interchange- 
able; they are intended to represent special preparation along the 
particular line indicated. 

As rapidly as possible all teachers in grades 7 to 12 in city 
schools should be expected to meet the qualifications prescribed 
by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. 
These standards should not, for the present, apply to rural schools 
so far as the 7 and 8 grades are concerned. 

RELATION OF SALARY TO CERTIFICATE. 

6. The certification law should be accompanied by a minimum 
salary provision. The minimum salary should be prescribed for 
each grade of certificate, which salary should increase at least 
$50.00 a step as requirments increase. The following guiding 
principles are recommended for consideration in determining the 
amount of salary. 

(a) Every teacher is entitled to a minimum salary which will 
provide a living wage for twelve months and a standard of living 
which will draw people of refinement and ability to teaching. 

(b) Other factors being the same, the teacher in the grades 
should receive as much salary as the teacher in the other school 
divisions. 

(c) Salary increases and attainable maximum should be so ar- 
ranged that (i) they offer a career in teaching, and (ii) they induce 
the best young men and women from the high school to prepare for 
teaching, and (iii) they secure constant improvement during the 
time of teaching. 

(d) The more and the better the academic and professional 
preparation that a teacher has, other factors being equal, the more 
salary she should receive. 

(e) The more successful experience a teacher has had in the 
particular field in which she is working, other factors being equal, 
the more salary she should receive. 

(f) Every successful teacher should find it possible to pass 
from a mere living wage to an "economic independence" wage and 
from that to a "cultural" wage. The second of these, the "econ- 
omic independence" wage, should provide the teacher with a salary 
adequate to meet her necessary expense and those of her dependents, 
with margin enough to provide for necessary professional advance- 



288 PUBLIC E^DUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

raent, and above that a margin for saving and in\'estment. The 
third, or "cultural" wage, should be enough to provide for economic 
independence and still allow for travel, additional study, the best 
in music, literature art, etc. ; thus to keep the teacher a true repre- 
sentative of Ihe best in the social inheritance of the race. 

(g) There should be enough flexibility in the salary schedule 
to provide extra pay for teachers of extra ability. In other words, 
merit should be recognized, other factors being equal. 

MODERN EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES. 

(7) The public schools of Oklahoma should adopt the seven 
cardinal objectives of education announced by the Committee on the 
Reorganization of Secondary Education, or some similar formulation 
of aims. The seven objectives are : health, command of funda- 
mental processes, worthy home membership, vocation, citizenship, 
worthy use of leisure and ethical character. 

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES. 

The course of study in the public schools should be determined 
by two basic principles, the nature of the individual and the char- 
acter of society. In America it is generally conceived that we are 
seeking by education to inculcate in the individual such knowledge, 
attitudes, skills, and appreciations as will make him an intelligent, 
cooperative citizen. To accomplish this end through the curricu- 
lum, these seven aims are urged by the Committee on the Reor- 
ganization of Secondary Education. The ends of education as 
stated by some other writers on modern educational problems are 
five in number. They hold that the public school should seek to 
gain : physical, vocational, avocational, civic, moral, and religious 
efficiency. It is readily seen that there are no conflicts between 
these two statements. If it is found that the material in the cur- 
riculum, is live, up-to-date and modern; designed to impart knowl- 
edge, establish skills and habits and increase appreciation which con- 
tributes to either of the physical, vocational, avocational, civic or 
moral efficiency of the individual it can be said that from the view- 
point of American Society, it is a desirable curriculum. 

When the content of a curriculum stands inspection from the 
view of desirability to American Society, we must then turn to see 
whether the subjects of that curriculum have been arranged so that, 
considering the nature of the individual, we can expect the largest 
returns. Educational psychologists agree that because of the chang- 



VILLAGE AND CITY SCHOOLS 289 

ing nature of a growing individual a certain sequence of material 
is desirable in the public schools. It is necessary for the continued 
existence of society that every individual of that society absorb or 
acquire certain fundamental common knoAvledge, habits, ideas, and 
mental attitudes for which that society stands. For instance, a 
society which exists because of a common speech would readily 
disintegrate if the youth of that society Avere not taught this com- 
mon speech. 

Therefore, society insists that this group of fundamental ideas, 
this body of common kno"\vledge be acquired by each youthful mem- 
ber of the group thus integrating them with the society as a whole. 
Now it happens that we find that in childhood it is most easily pos- 
sible to impress on the mind this body of fundamental knowledge 
and integrating ideals, habits and modes of thought and therefore, 
the curriculum of the elementary school ought to stress . primarily 
the acquisition of that body of fundamental knowledge which 
it is desirable that each child acquire if the society's existence is 
to continue unimpaired. 

Accordingly we measure the efficiency of the elementary 
school curriculum in the American public school by whether it is 
designed to give command of such fundamental processes as reading, 
spelling and arithmetic. Other subjects, as health, and apprecia- 
tion subjects, such as Art and Music, should be introduced into 
the elementary school curriculum, but nevertheless the primary 
business of the elementary school is to establish a command of these 
fundamental processes. 

INCREASING ADAPTION TO INDIVIDUAL NEEDS. 
If this integrating process has gone on intensively through six 
grades of the elementary school, the school can afford to stress this 
work a little more lightly in later years of school, in order that the 
young boy or girl may have the opportunity which, at the age of 
adolescence is entirely natural, to explore a little further in the 
wide field of human knowledge and, therefore, the criteria for judg- 
ing the work of the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades of public 
schools is to be found in Avhether the curriculum provides for 
a lessening of emphasis on the integrating elements of the curricu- 
lum to the end that the capacities and interests of the pupils may be 
more fully explored. This gives the individual pupils the opportu- 
nity to follow under wise direction the different phases of the 

S. S. 10 



290 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

curriculum in which he has a personal interest, and for which he 
has some capacity. 

In the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grades, of senior high school, 
the integrating function of the elementary school lessens still fur- 
ther. In many schools English and social science are the only sub- 
jects required of all pupils in these years. Here the emphasis in 
the curriculum shifts largely from the integrating function to 
the differentiating function. After society has assured itself that 
the youth has been well grounded in the fundamental factors and 
processes necessary for society's continued existence, and has given 
the pupil an opportunity to explore different fields of knowledge in 
the intermediate grades, it may be well to expect of him in the 
senior high school some degree of specialized achievement whicl: 
will fit him to do well some particular task. 

The courses of study in a number of the cities visited seem to 
be built largely on the above premises. It is the judgment of the 
investigators that in some cases Oklahoma cities furnish an illus- 
tration of remarkable progress in scientifically arranging curricula. 

The work of city superintendents formulating courses of study 
in English, mathematics, and citizenship is most commendable, and 
should be followed by courses in the other required subjects. 

REORGANIZATION OF CITY SCHOOL SYSTEMS. 

(8) At present, most of the city school systems of Oklahoma 
provide twelve grades of instruction. The twelve years are divided 
into eight years of elementary and four years of high school, or 
what is commonly known as the 8-4 plan of organization. It is 
gratifying to note that many cities in Oklahoma have found it 
advantageous to modify the standard 8-4 plan and to inaugurate the 
6-3-3 plan, or the 6-6 plan. In every instance observed, the adop- 
tion of the 6-3-3 or the 6-6 plan has apparently been decidedly ad- 
vantageous. This plan is recommended for all cities, and the stand- 
ards of the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary 
schools may well be adopted as guiding principles by city school 
boards throughout the State in the development of junior and senior 
high schools. 

These standards are as follows : 

(a) The secondary school should be a unit in the educa- 
tional system and should include grades 7-12. 

(b) For purposes of administrative efficiency, these grades 
may be organized on the basis of the three-three plan, the two- 



VILLAGE AND CITY SCHOOLS 291 

four plan, or the six-year plan, as local conditions warrant. 

(c) Under usual conditions a school system with fewer 
than five hundred pupils in grades 7 to 12 should not attempt to 
organize on the basis of more than one unit, provided these grades 
are housed in one building. 

(d) Under usual conditions a school system with con- 
siderably more than five hundred pupils should organize the 
secondary school in two units. 

(e) Ultimately the training of all teachers of academic sub- 
jects in grades 7-12 should be the same as that fixed by the North 
Central Association for teachers in accredited high schools. 

(f) In its curricular offerings, a school should present a 
range of work in seventh and eighth grades which is more exten- 
sive than that offered in the traditional school, and provision should 
be made for some directed pupil-choice of subjects to be studied. 

(g) In the administration of the program of studies in grades 
7 and 8, provisions should be made for : 

(i ) At least partial departmentalization of Instruction. 
(ii ) Promotion by subject. 

(i i i) Pupil collateral activities supervised by school 
authorities. 

(i V ) Some form of supervised study, either by teachers 
in the classrooms or by trained, experienced 
supervisors, in larger study halls. 

(h) In the administration of the school, provision should be 
made for: 

(i ) Recitation periods of not less than thirty-five min- 
utes, exclusive of all time used in the chang- 
ing of classes or teachers, 
(i i) A teaching load of not more than thirty periods 
per week of forty minutes each. 

(iii) A number of pupils per teacher based on average 
attendance of not more than thirty. 

The junior high school and six-year high school movement is 
of too recent origin to warrant the adoption at present of too rigid 
standards for accrediting. In fact, any effort to standardize these 
schools at this time would retard rather than advance the progress 
of this important movement. 



2S2 PUBLIC ETDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

FREE TEXT BOOKS. 

(9) County uniformity of free text-books should be provided 
except in districts of 2,500 population or over. The State should 
not attempt to print its own text-books, or continue the present 
policy of State uniformity. 

The three major arguments for a State wide adoption of text- 
books were : 

(a) Reduction of the cost of books to patrons. 

(b) Reduction of the frequent changing of text-books. 

(c) Uniformity. 

The first two of these arguments are absolutely eliminated when 
a system of free text-books is adopted. Therefore, no logical use 
remains for a State Text-Book Commission, or a list of State-adopted 
books, unless the desire for rigid uniformity still prevails. Too 
rigid uniformity violates the best interests of special groups and 
classes of pupils. 

The present method of selecting text-books is entirely inade- 
quate, inasmuch as it does not provide for : 

(a) Expert professional judgment in the selection of books; 

(b) j\Iore than one approved basic text in each subject for 

each grade; ' 

(c) More than two supplementary reading texts; 

(c) Flexibility inasmuch as it requires that "each grade and 
each subject shall be considered a separate adoption"; 

(e) Opportunity for needed reorganization and experimenta- 
tion in the course of study in certain subjects and grades, especially 
in the junior high school, and for certain special conditions or 
groups, such as rural and negro schools and special classes for back- 
ward and feeble minded children. 

The fundamental principles that should guide in the selection 
of text-books has been largely ignored in the present text-book law. 
The following cardinal principles, which should be the basis of 
legislation in regard to text-books, are here set forth; 

(a) A generous supply of good text-books in the hands of 
each pupil is, next to a good teacher, the most effective means for 
his instruction. It is also an economy since the amount spent for 
text-books is only approximately two per cent of the total annual 
cost of the schools. 

(b) All of the more important means of instruction should, in 
a democracy, be free, equally open to all, and as far as possible 
suited to the needs of each. 



VILLAGE AND CITY SCHOOLS 293 

(c) Therefore, text-books should be free. 

(d) The public should protect itself, under a system of free 
text-books, by requiring when books are loaned to pupils a deposit 
fee or other guarantee that the books will be returned in reasonably 
good condition. When books are lost, destroyed, or unreasonably 
worn, pupils should be required to pay for the same. When books 
are returned in reasonably good condition the deposit should be re- 
turned. 

(e) No single text-book is equally suited to the need of all 
the children of a given grade or subject. Individual and group 
differences are enormous, and should be recognized in the selection 
of text-books. This is especially true for grades 7 to 12, where the 
differentiating function rather than the integrating function gov- 
erns. 

(f) Text-books should be selected solely on their merits, with 
reference to their adaptability to particular individuals and groups. 

(g) The average life of free text-books is approximately three 
years, and, therefore, provision should be made for new adoptions 
and renewals on a three year basis. 

(h) The best persons to select text-books, and other instruc- 
tional supplies are those who use them and those who directly su- 
pervise their use. 

(i) A study of experiments which have been made seems to 
indicate that it is neither economical nor a sound educational policy 
for a State to print its own text-books. 

STATE AID FOR FREE TEXT-BOOKS. 

(10) It is recommended that the State shall provide each 
school unit, for the purchase of text-books, the sum of three to 
five dollars per pupil enrolled in kindergarten and grades one to 
six inclusive; the sum of four to six dollars for each white and 
colored pupil enrolled in grades seven to twelve inclusive; pro- 
vided that all money not expended for the purchase of text-books 
may be spent in purchasing supplementary and reference books; 
provided also that all money not so expended shall revert to the 
general school fund of the State. It is estimated after the first 
year free text-books will cost from one-third to one-half of the above 
estimate. This provides for replacements. Appropriations should 
be made on this basis. 



294 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPLIES. 

(11) Practically all of the cities visited should spend much 
more money for equipment; including- charts, maps, sand tables, 
etc., for the grade schools. The needs of the high schools in the 
way of laboratory equipment have been fairly well met. In most 
cities the library facilities are very poor and should be materially 
increased. Supplementary reading material should be supplied 
much more liberally than is done throughout the tAvelve grades. 
Few sehoolhouses or rooms are supplied with good pictures. Ap- 
propriations made for the purchase of choice pictures are good edu- 
cational investments. 

The general provision in Section (397) which empowers the 
State Text-Book Commission ''to select and adopt maps, charts, 
globes and other apparatus" should be repealed, along with other 
provisions of Section (397). Such materials should be selected 
by the same agencies as is elsewhere provided in this report for the 
selection of free text-books. 

CHANGES IN TAKING OF CENSUS AND IN COMPULSORY 

ATTENDANCE LAWS. 

(12) The following changes are recommended: 

(a) The superintendent of schools should direct and the 

teachers take the school census. 

(b) The compulsory attendance law should apply equally 
to children attending non-public schools. 

(c) The limiting clause of Section (240) which permits chil- 
dren to absent themselves one-third of the time the school is in 
session should be repealed, and ''full time" attendance should be 
required. 

(d) A provision should be added to Section (253) making 
it mandatory for counties of 52,000 population or more to provide a 
county home for dependent white boys. 

(e) Section (245) and Section (248) should be amended 
to read "Destitute mothers of children under the age of sixteen 
years". 

(f) The minimum age for compulsory school attendance 
should be reduced from eight to seven years. 

(g) All non-public schools should be subject to inspection 
by local and State school authorities, and should be required to 
maintain standards for teacher preparation and certification, courses 



VILLAGE AND CITY SCHOOLS ' 295 

of study, school hygiene and sanitation, and attendance requirements 
the equivalent of standards set up by the local and State public 
school authorities. 

THE SCHOOL CENSUS. 

Great care should be exercised in taking the census. The best 
practice today provides for the taking of the census by the teach- 
ers under the direction of the superintendent. If each teacher is 
apportioned a certain number of blocks in her own immediate school 
neighborhood it is possible to get an absolute check upon the num- 
ber of children in the school district. It should be made mandatory 
upon the superintendent and teachers to take the census. This 
will give a competent body, rather than a possibly incompetent in- 
dividual, who has no interest other than the returns for his 
days labor. 

Soon after the beginning of the school year the census record 
should be checked with the enrollment. The attendance officer 
should visit the homes where there are children unaccounted 
for. 

The information collected concerning each individual child 
should be placed on a cumulative record card. This card should 
show residence, name, occupation of parents, date of birth of child, 
sex, nationality, kind and grade of school attended, physical dis- 
ability if any, name and address of employer if employed. Such 
information will prove invaluable in enforcing the compulsory school 
law, child labor law, and widows' pension law, and also in indicating 
the growth and trend of population. The latter will aid the board 
of education materially in formulating a school building program. 
The compulsory attendance law should apply equally to children 
attending non-public schools. 

ATTENDANCE LAWS. 

Directly associated with the school census is the problem of 
attendance. Section (241) requires the appointment in cities or 
incorporated towns of truancy officers by the board of education, 
and in school districts the appointment of truancy officer by county 
superintendent. Attendance in city school systems seems to be 
fairly satisfactory in the white schools. Attendance officers state, 
however, that the provision which requires (Section 240) that the 
child be compelled to attend but two-thirds of the session practical- 
ly nullifies the eft'ective administration of the law. 



286 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

This limiting clause, namely the two-thirds proposition in the 
law, should be repealed immediately, and all children compelled 
to attend the full session unless physicall or mentally incapacitated. 
This should apply equally to white and colored children under six- 
teen years of age. 

Section (245) and Section (248), which provide for the aiding 
of ''Destitute mothers" should be amended to read "Mothers of 
children under sixteen years". There is a gap of two years between 
the age fourteen, as stated in the present law, and sixteen years, pro- 
vided for in "Compulsory Attendance Law and Child Labor Law", 
which has proved to be the cause of genuine distress. 

CONCERNING COUNTY HOME. 

Section (253) provides for "A County Home for Dependent 
"White Boys" in any county having a population of 52,000 in 1920. 
This number might well be reduced to 25,000 population, and pro- 
vision made that two or more counties may jointly carry out the 
provisions of the Act. In comities over '52,000 it is recommended 
that the act be made mandatory. 

RETARDATION AND ELIMINATION OF PUPILS. 

(13) The following recommendations are made for reducing 
retardation : 

(a) Parents should be urged to enter children at the earliest 
possible legal age. 

(b) Kindergarten should be established wherever school 
funds permit and enrollment justifies. 

(c) Greater care should be taken in grading, classifying, 
and promoting children. 

(d) Homogenous speed grouping should begin with the first 
grade and continue throughout the system. 

(e) Scientific diagnostic and remedial work should accom- 
pany homogeneous speed grouping. 

(f) Medical and physical supervision should be provided 
for all children. 

(g) Regular attendance in the primary grades should be 
stressed as in upper grades. 

"Retardation deals with the over-age or retarded children; 
those who are older than they should be for the grades they are in. 
They are found in all school systems but are by no means equally 
common in all. In "normal progression" the children are in the 



VILLAGE AND CITY SCHOOLS 297 

proper grades for their ages. "Acceleration" is applied to those 
pupils who are under-age, that is, who are younger than the normal 
age for the grade in which they are placed. Under existing condi- 
tions probably about 25 per cent of the pupils should be retarded, 
50 per cent should progress normally and 25 per cent should 
be accelerated. 

The significance of over-age does not lie entirely in the fact 
that these children will probably leave the elementary school before 
they complete the course, but lies more particularly in the fact 
that, while they do remain in school, the instruction received will 
not be adapted to their abilities. Hence, such children, on the 
one hand, do not receive the full benefits from the instruction given ; 
and, on the other hand, being thus improperly classified, they are 
a burden to the teacher and prevent her from giving the proper at- 
tention to the other members of the class in which these over-age 
children are found. Hence, over-ageness is not only significant for 
the children themselves Avho are over-age, but becomes significant 
for all members of the school. Moreover, over-ageness in the ele- 
mentary school not only affects the work of the school but affects 
the number of children going to high school, and the number remain- 
ing to complete the high school course. 

It is plainly evident that over-ageness is a distinct economic 
loss to the district. Therefore, measures adopted to overcome re- 
tradation in school will not only help the child, but will also tend 
to relieve the district of additional expense. 

The data furnished the Bureau of Education by certain school 
systems of the State shows that 29.9 per cent of the white children 
in the cities furnishing the data are retarded. This is perhaps bet- 
ter than the the average State. A careful study of the figures, how- 
ever, shows a high per cent of over-age pupils in the 4-5-6-7-8-9-years 
among the boys. See Table 32. 

DEFINITION OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS. 

(14) At the present time there is some confusion concerning 
the definition of the different types of school districts, and also 
concerning the application of various laws to the different types. 
This confusion should be cleared up in order that the proper admin- 
istration of the various school districts may be facilitated. 



298 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

SCHOOL HYGIENE AND HEALTH EDUCATION. 

(15) One of the cardinal principles in modern education is the 
conservation of the health of the pupils and the creating of a health 
conscience. That is, the individual pupil should think not only 
of his own health but also how he may contribute to the general 
communitj'^ health. Children should be taught the principles of 
health and hygiene. As in many other things, the home quite fre- 
quently throws the burden on the school and the school should ac- 
cept the responsibility and opportunity. 

The majority of the city schools visited are giving health in- 
struction. The children are weighed and heights taken at frequent 
intervals. Health Clubs have been formed in some of the schools^ 
and in a few definite time given for health instruction. It is 
necessary for children to suppress a very considerable amount of 
their muscular energy when in the classroom. This increases ner- 
vous tension and strain. One of the ways to overcome possible bad 
effects is to introduce certain physical training exercises which will 
relax, strengthen, and recreate the child. 

Courses in physical training have three aims; educational, 
hygienic, and recreational. To increase vitality and produce 
strength and health by overcoming unhygienic conditions in the 
schoolroom, such as bad light, impure air, and poor seating facilities^ 
should be the hygienic aim. The educational aim is to promote 
habits of quick reaction to commands and to train in obedience 
and exactness. The recreational aim is to relax the mind and 
body of the child by participation in games. 

The physical training program of the cities visited is not as 
generous as it should be. Health will be more valuable to the 
man or woman of the future than Latin or Ancient History. If 
retrenchments are to be made, the health department should not be 
the first to suffer as it has been in some of the cities visited. In 
the majority not nearly enough time is given to physical training. 
Supervised play is largely carried on, if at all, by the classroom 
teachers, very few playground supervisors being found. The 
amount of playground apparatus is insufficient in most cases; how- 
ever, a few have been most generously supplied. The cities, with- 
out exception, have provided liberally for directed athletics such as 
football, baseball, and track, Avliich is highly commendable. 



VILLAGE AND CITY SCHOOLS 299 

HELPFUL SERVICE OF THE SCHOOL NURSE 
One of the most helpful _^agents in promoting health in the public 
schools is the school nurse. By inspecting the schools frequently 
she discovers communicable diseases in their incipient state and 
thus prevents epidemics. The nurse also many times discovers phy- 
sical abnormalities unsuspected by the parents of the children. The 
nurse's work is not only corrective and remedial but also educa- 
tional. Her opportunities for furthering the health of the boys and 
girls are almost limitless. The school nurse is almost an indispen- 
sable factor in a well balanced school. A few of the cities visited 
have the services of a full time school nurse. Any city of 8,000 
people should have a full time school nurse. 

Modern discoveries show that the cause of many ailments may 
be traced directly to decayed teeth. The school should supply free 
dental work for children whose parents are too poor to pay for 
the work. One school visited does the work free for all the chil- 
dren of all the people. 

MEASUREMENTS 

(16) The splendid work in educational tests and measure- 
ments in a number of school systems should be encouraged and ex- 
tended, and its benefits made State-wide. 

Individuals vary greatly in mental ability. During the war 
•psychological tests were devised for the testing of the mental cap- 
acity of large groups of men. Adaptation of these tests are quite 
generally used for measuring the intelligence of pupils. From the 
data obtained pupils may be grouped according to their abilities. 
It is an axiom in modern education that children should work up 
to their normal capacities. If they are doing this they are more 
apt to be both happy and good. This is impossible if a group of 
•children vary too widely in their intellectual and scholastic abilities. 

Careful and frequent mental and subject matter testing is nec- 
essary in order to group children homogeneously with reference to 
their speed abilities. The survey staff observed with admiration 
the unusual progress made in many of the cities visited in modern 
scientific method of determining abilities. In fact, certain of the 
cities visited appear to have made more progress in the application 
of scientific measurements than any similar group of cities in the 
United States. Economy of time and money make it imperative 
that all school officials and teachers should employ standardized 
and mental educational tests in the classification of children. 



300 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

TESTS MADE BY OKLAHOMA EDUCATORS FOR THE 

SURVEY. 

A group of Oklahoma educators under the direction of Dean 
Phelan of the University of Oklahoma, and Henry D. Rinsland, of 
the Ardmore public schools, gave a series of tests in Spelling, Arith- 
metic, Composition, Handwriting, Reading, and Algbera. The tests 
reveal that in Spelling (Ashbaugh Spelling Scale) grades three, 
four, ten, eleven, and twelve are average or above in Spelling ; other 
grades are below^ the standard. In reading (Haggerty and Thorn- 
dyke-McCall) grades one, two, three, four, five, seven, and twelve 
are standard or above ; and six, eight, nine, ten, and eleven are be- 
low standard. In Handwriting (Ayers Scale) grades three to eight 
inclusive are all above standard in rate, but with the exception of 
seven all fall below standard in quality. In English Composition 
(Hudelson Composition Test) all grades fall below standard. In 
Arithmetic (Courtis Series B), with the exception of grade three in 
number of attempts in addition, not a single grade from one to eight 
inclusive meet the standard either in number attempted or per cent 
of accuracy. 

In Algebra (Hotz Algebra Test) series A (Addition and Sub- 
traction) and series A (Equation and Formula) in no case do grades 
nine, ten, eleven and twelve equal the standard. 

A summary of the results of the tests will be found in Chapter 
XI. 

STATE APPROVAL OF ALL SCHOOL HOUSE CONSTRUCTION 

(17) A law should be enacted and enforced making it illegal 
for any school board to erect or remodel any school building until 
the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, or an officer dele- 
j^ated by him, has certified to the clerk of the Board in writing to 
the effect that he has examined and approved the plans and speci- 
fications for the proposed building or remodeling. A minimum 
amount of two acres of ground for each school building should be 
required, unless for reason the requirement is waived by the State 
Superintendent of Public Instruction. The State Superintendent 
of Public Instruction should be required to prepare and adopt regu- 
lations fixing certain minimum standards for school buildings apd 
equipment, and covering the plans and specifications of the same. 
Local school authorities who ignore and violate these standards, 
should be punishable under the law. An excellent law on this sub- 



VILLAGE AND CITY SCHOOLS 301 

ject, fostered by the State Department of Education, has been ren- 
dered practically null and void by failure to provide a suitable 
appropriation for enforcement. 

In many cases the unsatisfactory conditions observed are not 
confined to old buildings. Many buildings erected within the past 
five years almost totally disregard health and sanitation standards. 
The erection of such buildings should be made illegal. 

Boards of Education in groAving communities should be en- 
couraged to lay out a ten to twenty year building program for the 
community. Sites should be purchased as long as possible in ad- 
vance of the time when they will be needed. School systems should 
not be alloAved, like Topsy, to just grow. If city planning is pos- 
sible, city school system planning is even more possible. 

Many cities in Oklahoma are making satisfactory progress in 
this regard, and this progress is to be commended to other muni- 
cipalities. The present legislative act regarding school buildings 
covers such questions as the following: floor space, air space per 
pupil, lighting, heating and ventilating, cloak rooms, out houses, 
cleaning and disinfecting schoolhouses, book of plans, etc. Most of 
the school buildings in the cities of the State are fairly new, modern, 
and convenient structures. Unlike other States in the Union, there 
are very few really old school buildings in Oklahoma, especially 
in the cities. 

A STATE SCHOOL BUILDING CODE. 

There seems to be no marked sentiment among school offi- 
cials for a State school building code. In fact, most superinten- 
dents and board members interviewed stated that they had gotten 
along fairly well without one, and they were at a loss to see how a 
State school building code would help them very much. However, 
the practice in other States seems to contradict this viewpoint. 

No country or city school building should be allowed to be 
erected in the State of Oklahoma that does not meet the best mod- 
ern standards for schoolhouse construction. A State school build- 
ing code should give to the Superintendent of Public Instruction 
the power to approve or disapprove every school building erected 
in the State. The State Superintendent of Public Instruction might 
delegate this power to a representative officer or to a county super- 
intendent or city superintendent. 

The school laws state specifically these requirements. It is 
probably wiser for the State to delegate to the Superintendents of 



302 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

Public Instruction and his associates the problem of drafting a State 
school building code. It might not be necessary to make every 
phase of this building code an act of the Legislature. In fact, 
standards for school house construction change so rapidly that it is 
probably wiser to leave the Superintendent of Public Instruction a 
certain latitude in the matter, as in Michigan. 

There is always a close correlation between the sanitation of 
school buildings and the general health of the pupils. Bad light- 
ing, poor ventilation, unsanitary toilets, defective heating apparatus, 
unsatisfactory drinking fountains, are all contributing factors to 
injurious schoolroom surroundings. 

In standard lighting for schoolrooms the light should come 
from one side of the room, and the window area should be one- 
fourth of floor area. More than half of the buildings visited ap- 
proach this standard. Heating facilities are excellent. Toilet facil- 
ities are, as a rule, ample, but in some cases extremely unsanitary 
because of neglect. Fair provision is made for furnishing drinking 
water. 

SALARY SCHEDULE AND PENSION SYSTEM. 
(18) The training equipment and ability of the teachers in 
the city schools of Oklahoma rank up with the same class in other 
cities of the United States. At present, there is no shortage in the 
supply of city school teachers. This applies to both trained and 
untrained teachers. In fact, too much has been said about the 
shortage of teachers for city schools. Teachers gravitate towards 
city school systems from all other types of schools. 

Consequently, except in periods of industrial inflation, the sup- 
ply exceeds the demand. This is not as true of village and rural 
schools. Village and rural schools are the training schools for 
future city school teachers. Apparently it would be perfectly pos- 
sible for every city in Oklahoma to secure Normal School graduates 
for all new grade school vacancies. It might be necessary to increase 
the salaries in order to secure and hold normal school graduates. 

It is impossible to state just what percentage of teachers in 
Oklahoma are normal trained in comparison with other States in 
the Union. It would appear that Oklahoma ranks about average 
with Middle Western States in the matter of elementary school 
teachers. The observers were able to find but few teachers who 
were not college graduates teaching in accredited high schools. 



VILLAGE AND CITY SCHOOLS 303 

In. small high schools, of from one to four teachers, it is still cus- 
tomary for one reason or another to employ in some instances, 
undergraduates. 

The big problem is not salaries alone. The cost of living and 
the salary schedules in Oklahoma are no more out of proportion than 
in other States. It is largely a question of what the cities want. If 
every Superintendent rigidly observes the practice of employing, 
for all new vacancies in the elementary school, only normal school 
graduates, and only college graduates in high school, it would be 
but a short time before Oklahoma would rank with Massachusetts 
in the qualifications and training of the teachers. 

SALARIES AND CONTRACTS. 

(19) Few cities in Oklahoma attempt to maintain a scientific- 
ally graded salary schedule. The few attempts are commendable 
in their accomplishments. However, it is a deplorable fact that 
teachers must migrate from job to job, city to city, and State to 
State, in order to advance in salary and position. It is equally de- 
plorable that the number of better paid positions are and will con- 
tinue to be relatively few in comparison to the number of class-room 
positions. Consequently, it is necessary to make a rather sharp dis- 
tinction between the executive, administrative, and supervisory 
officers, and teachers. 

Among the classroom teachers, the tendency has been to have 
two and sometimes three or more types of salary schedules. One of 
these schedules applies to high school teachers, another to grade 
school teachers, and another to special teachers. The distinction be- 
tween high school, grade school, and special teachers should be as 
far as possible removed. This may be accomplished in large part 
by basing salaries on professional qualifications, as suggested else- 
where. 

TEACHERS' PENSIONS AND OLD AGE ANNUITIES. 

(20) The Oklahoma. School Law on teachers' pensions appar- 
ently is a failure. There is a law on the statute books, but there is 
no money for its enforcement. Furthermore, the law itself is 
scaiccly adequate. Oklahoma should have an adequate teachers' 
pension law. Careful attention should be given to this important 
matter. Of the hundred odd teachers' pension systems in the United 
States, less than fifteen are on a sound actuarial basis, according 
to Studcnsky, who has made a special study of the subject* 

•Paul Studensky: Teachers' Pension Systems in the United States; Apple- 
ton, N. Y., 1920. 



304 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

About thirty-two States maintain teachers' pension systems, 
twenty-two of which are State-wide systems. The present period 
is one of readjustment. Nearly all of the State pension systems 
are financially unsound, and must be radically reorganized if they 
are to continue in operation. It is inevitable that Oklahoma must 
face this problem. A commission should be appointed, authorized 
by the Legislature, for the sole purpose of investigating and report- 
ing to the Legislature a sound State-wide teachers pension and 
annuity system. 

POWERS AND DUTIP:S OF BOARDS OF EDUCATION. 

(21) The powers and duties of boards of education should be 
more specifically defined. The recommendations on this point re- 
sulting from the survey of the public schools of Wheeling, West 
Virginia, are offered as suggestive. In the limited time available 
this Survey could not attempt to make detailed studies of city school 
systems in Oklahoma. 

The present law governing the election, term of office, powers 
and duties, and size of school boards is similar in most respects to 
laws in other States. Every city of the first class and every incor- 
porated town maintaining an accredited four-year high school, is an 
independent school district. The Board of Education consists of 
one member from each ward and one from outlying territory. Each 
member of .the Board holds office for four years. 

In independent districts other than cities of the first class, the 
Board is composed of three members selected by the district at 
large. Certain cities are also governed by charters which provide, 
in some instances, for the election of the Board of Education by 
wards. In cities of a population of more than 50,000, the Board of 
Education is composed of two members elected from each ward, pro- 
vided the number of wards does not exceed five. Women are qual- 
ified to serve on Boards of Education the same as men. In cities of 
less than 5,000 population, the Board of Education is composed of 
one person from each ward, and one from outlying territory, and 
if there is no outlying territory, a member must be elected by the 
city at large. 

COMMENDABLE FEATURES. 
The tenure of City Boards of Education is four years. This is 
in accordance with approved practice elsewhere. The City Boards 
are not large, as no city in the State has more than four wards, and 



VILLAGE AND CITY SCHOOLS 305 

special charters do not provide for more than seven members. 

(22) All Board members should be elected from the district 
at large. The election of school Boards from city wards is a sur- 
vival of the early district school control. The ward system of rep- 
resentation perpetuates personal and political evils in school con- 
trol. Education is a State function. Under the ward system, it is 
a matter of common knoAvledge that persons are frequently elected 
who could not be elected from the district at large. The manage- 
ment of a school system is not a political, personal, or petty job. 
The very best men and women are needed for school Board members. 

SIZE OF BOARD. 

(23) A second criticism relates to the number of members con- 
stituting a Board of Education. In Oklahoma City the Board has 
eight members. In other districts in the State the Board may have 
as few as three. The law should be uniform with regard to the size 
of the board. 

THE RELATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT TO THE BOARD 
SHOULD BE CLEARLY DEFINED. 

(24) The law fails to specify the distinction between the pow- 
ers and duties of the Board, and the powers and duties of the 
Superintendent of Schools, who is selected by the Board. However, 
in practice, Boards of Education tend to delegate powers and duties 
to the Superintendent of schools in accordance with his competency. 

Section 121 provides that Boards of Education except in cities 
shall elect a school treasurer who is not a member of the Board. In 
case of vacancy in the treasurership, the Board of Education may 
by a majority vote, elect a suitable person to fill the unexpired term. 
In cities of the first class the treasurer of the City School Board is 
elected each two years. 

It is difficult to understand just why each school district should 
elect or appoint a treasurer. Is it impossible for the County Treas- 
urer or City Treasurer to serve in this capacity? The Board of 
Education should at least have the power to appoint a Treasurer 
where City or County Treasurer cannot serve. 

LONGER TENURE FOR SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS. 

(25) The law on the tenure of school Superintendents should 
be amended so as to permit a Board of Education to contract with 
a Superintendent for a period of three to five years by a majority 
vote. 



306 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

POWERS AND DUTIES OF SUPERINTENDENTS AND 

OTHER OFFICERS. 

(26) The powers and duties of superintendents and other offi- 
cers should be specifically defined. For suggestions on this point 
see Appendix A. 

The law provides that a Board of Education may by a majority 
vote elect a Superintendent and teachers for a period of one year. 
By a three-fourths vote, the Board may elect a Sueprintendent for 
a period not to exceed three years. The election of Superintendents 
for three years is a commendable feature of the law, but a majority 
vote should be all that is required. Otherwise a minority may rule 
the Board. 

One thing is noticeable for its absence. The Superintendent's 
powers and duties are not defined. Superintendents should be given 
the full power of nominating teachers. The selection of teachers 
is a professional task. It requires trained expert leadership. In 
various sections of the State it was observed with satisfaction that 
the tendency everywhere is for Boards of Education to delegate 
the selection of teachers to the Superintendent. However, com- 
plaints were frequently made that Boards sometimes permit per- 
sonal, political, or religious questions to interfere with the Super- 
intendent's nominations. Frequently, also Boards originate and 
dictate the nominations. In no way should the schools be made 
"local" family affairs, or used for local, charitable, political, social, 
or religious purposes. The avoidance of this can be best attained 
by giving the Superintendent the power to select and nominate 
teachers and all other educational officers. 

The Board of Education should consider the Superintendent 
of Schools as its chief executive officer. The Board of Directors 
of a hospital selects an executive officer to represent it, and dele- 
gates to this executive officer the power to select his staff. The 
Board of Education of the University selects a President, who is 
highly trained in his profession, and then delegates to this man 
the power of selecting his staff. By such means it is possible for 
the executive officers of School Boards to carry out educational 
policies and to select a trained personnel in sympathy with such 
policies. 

Potentially, the most important officer in the employ of the 
people in any community is the Superintendent of Schooh. Actu- 
ally, the condition is frequently otherwise. In poijular estimation, 



VILLAGE AND CITY SCHOOLS 307 

the mayor or the Chief of Police or the Head of the Fire Depart- 
ment may occupy a more important position, but 'Hhe farreaching 
character of the services of a capable and energetic school Super- 
intendent, transcends in importance, any of these." 

STATE AID FOR STANDARD PUBLIC JUNIOR COLLEGES, 

AND STANDARD JUNIOR COLLEGE COURSES IN 

TEACHER TRAINING. 

(27) The Survey commends the Junior Colleges which have 
been established in a few cities, and the desire to develop standard 
one and two-year college courses in conjunction with other city 
school systems. It is more economical to train college Freshmen 
and Sophomores in standard public junior colleges under the ad- 
ministration and partial support of local school units than it is to 
train them in State schools. 

The arguments for public junior colleges in conjunction with 
city school systems are, in brief, as follows : 

(a) Boys and girls may continue their education while re- 
maining at home for one or two years longer. 

(b) It costs the State less money per pupil. 

(c) It costs the parents less money per pupil. 

(d) If proper standards are maintained, the instruction in 
city junior colleges may be even better than in congested freshmen 
and sophomore classes in higher educational institutions. 

(e) The rapid growth in popularity of higher education is 
threatening unduly to crowd State schools. 

(f) Moreover, State schools need to devote to advanced and 
graduate work a larger proportion of their resources than can at 
present be devoted to such training, because of the overcrowding 
of freshman and sophomore years. 

(g) Appropriations for State Schools should not be reduced 
or impaired when city junior colleges are established. 

(h) The remarkable growth in facilities in city school systems, 
such as well-equipped libraries and laboratories, makes it possible 
for city systems to establish and maintain standard junior colleges 
with a minimum amount of State aid. 

(i) The training of teachers for elementary schools can, on 
account of the excellent training school facilities of certain city 
schools, be accomplished with less expense and greater convenience 
to pupils, in standard teacher training courses in city junior col- 
leges. 



308 EDUCATIONAL, TESTS AND MEASUREMENTS . 

(j) The need for trained elementary teachers can never be r 

fully met by the largest probable development of State schools ] 

alone. This is especially true if the Survey program for teacher ^ 

training for 1924 to 1934 is followed. 

(k) The training of teachers and of college students is a 
function of the State. This function may be safely delegated to 
local school units in accordance with the ability of such units to 
perform such training in accordance with well established standards. 

(1) When such a function is so delegated, State-aid should 
accompany the delegation. The amount and conditions under which A 

State-aid is granted should depend upon per capita of cost of en- 
rollment and the amount of local support available. 

SCHOOLS FOR NEGROES. 

(28) Schools should be operated on the same basis, and main« 
tain the same standards, as white schools, and they should be under 
the administration and support of the Board of Education of each 
local unit with a population of 2,500 or over. 



i 



CHAPTER IX. 

EDUCATION OF INDIANS. 

The education of the children of the Indians in Oklahoma is 
one of the important educational responsibilities of the State and 
National Government. The crux of the problem is the proper ad- 
justment of educational responsibility between the State of Okla- 
homa and the United States Government. That one-third of all the 
Indians in the United States live within the borders of this State 
is an exceedingly significant fact both to the state and the nation. 

PROBLEMS OP FAR-REACHING SIGNIFICANCE. 

It is probable that the policies formulated for the education 
of Indians in the public schools of Oklahoma will largely determine 
those for other States. The variety of Indian types as well as the 
wide differences in the economic and social conditions of Indian 
groups in the State require a diversity of educational methods that 
will doubtlessi suggest practices for Indian communities in other 
parts of the country. 

Probably the consideration most vital to the State of Oklahoma 
in its relation to the education of the Indians arises from the wide 
distribution of the Indian people throughout the State with their 
extensive areas of non-taxable land, some parts of which have fer- 
tile soil while others are rich in oil and minerals. The estimated 
amount of non-taxable land and the Indian population are distribut- 
ed through 66 of the 77 counties. Such a distribution of people 
and property requires the serious thought of the people of Okla- 
homa and the co-operation of the United States Government with its 
special and legal responsibility for the Indian people. 

The factors to be considered in formulating policies for Indian 
education are first, the economic, hygienic, and tribal conditions 
of the Indians; second, the enumeration and enrollment of Indian 
youth of school age, and the school facilities now available for the 
Indians; third, the financial support of Indian education, and the 
relation of this support to the extensive areas of the non-taxable 
land in Oklahoma; fourth, the principles and methods of Indian 

309 



310 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

education during the transition of Indian youth from the boarding 
and day schools of the United States Indian Bureau to the public 
school system of the State; and fifth, recommendations concerning 
the education of Indians in Oklahoma. 

HOME, FAMILY AND TRIBAL CONDITIONS. 
According to the last census, the number of Indians in the 
State of Oklahoma was 59,000. According to the Indian bureau, 
the number is now 120,000. This discrepancy is explained by the fact 
that the census enumeration was based on the classification of a 
person as Indian whose appearance indicated that race, while the 
enumeration of the Indian bureau is based on records of blood re- 
lationship and includes persons of all degrees of Indicin mixture. 
These facts indicate that the full blood Indian is decreasing in num- 
ber because he is gradually becoming absorbed into the general pop- 
ulation in the country, although statistics prove that the number 
of those having Indian blood is increasing. 

It is not strange that there is much vague and confused think- 
ing in regard to these 120,000 Indian people of Oklahoma, for the 
current expressions used to de&eribe them have a connotation as 
widely varying as the experiences of those who occasionally see an 
Indian man or woman ; those who have taught the Indian boys and 
girls in the schools; and those who have lived in Indian commun- 
ities year after year. The very term, "Five Civilized Tribes," used 
' ''to designate the Cherokees, Choctaws, Creeks, Seminoles and Chick- 
asaws is a source of pride to these people of the old Indian Terri- 
tory, and of irritation to the so-called ''blanket" or "Western" 
Indians whose living conditions equal and often surpass those of the 
"Five Tribes." 

BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF CONDITIONS NEEDED. 

The term, "wealthy Indian," so often thought to apply to all 
Oklahoma Indians, does not suggest the fact that only a few de- 
rive incomes from oil, but the majority are dependent upon land 
leases and the farming of their own lands, or struggle for existence 
either back in the hills of eastern Oklahoma or in tents near some 
stream of western Oklahoma. 

Between the ideas that either all or none of the Indians of 
Oklahoma are educated, is the fact that illiteracy is constantly de- 
creasing, due to education in government, public, and private 



EDUCATION OF INDIANS 311 

schools, travel, contact with white persons, and the deaths of the 
old. Comparatively few Indian children, however, go beyond the 
8th grade, although that number is now increasing. 

The Indian people of four of the Five Civilized Tribes, namely 
Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Creek, show most of the stages 
of development in the transition from the primitive life of the past 
to the most highly developed social life of the Avhite American, just 
as they show varying amounts of Indian inheritance from full-blood 
to 1-32 or 1-64. There are, however, three distinct groups among 
these tribes, those living in towns, those in the country districts^ 
and those away from the lines' of travel, in the distant hills. 

The majority of the Indian people in the first group live in the 
towns and send their children to town or boarding schools. The 
junior colleges, in nearby States, are popular with the more ad- 
vanced young people of this group. Their homes vary, as do 
those of their white neighbors, and compare favorably with them. 
Some in this group are leaders in their communities and a goodly 
number hold positions of responsibility. 

The second group in eastern Oklahoma includes many full 
bloods and many of mixed blood. Their homes are usualh' two, 
three, or four room frame or log houses in the country, not especial- 
ly well kept. As a rule, however, the untidiness is that of disorder 
rather than dirt. A friendly neighbor or sympathetic visitor with 
higher ideals can wield a great influence for higher standards. The 
children are usually in boarding or district schools, and the parents 
are eager for their advancement, although this does not prevent 
their frequently taking the children from school for various unim- 
portant reasons. Neither does it prevent laxness in discipline. 

The third and last of these three groups, full blood oi- nearly 
so, is not more advanced than many of the so-called pagan Tndiftn 
people who have always lived far from the paths of civilization. 

Table 45, based on the findings from the Government Plealth 
Drive among the Indian people of the Five Tribes, shows that situ- 
ation among the approximately 30,000 full blood people of these 
tribes, and indicates the necessity for careful attention and action. 

The homes of this full blood group are one, two or three room 
frame or log houses back in the hills. There is little furniture ex- 
cept beds in these houses, and among the Cherokees only does the 
custom prevail to any extent of sunning the bedding. The common 



312 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



TABLE 45.— CONDITIONS AMONG THE 


FIVE TRIB 


ES. 


Five Tribes 


Cherokee 


Choctaw 


Creek 


Seminole 


Chickasaw 


Number of 












members by 


36,432 


17,488 


11,592 


2,141 


5i659 


blood 












Approxi- 












mate num- 
ber of full 


9,000 


8,000 


8,000 


1.300 


2,000 


bloods 






• 






Situation 


Back in hills 


Prefer inac- 


In country 


Back in 


In country 


of 


inaccessible 


cessible 


and hills 


country 


and towns 


homes 


places 


places 








Condition 


Log houses 


Box house 


Log and 


Log and 


Some neat 


of 


usually 2 


or shack 


frame 


frame 


log houses 


homes 


rooms poor- 


with fire- 


houses 


houses 


majority 




ly ventilated 


place 


\ 




frame 




Dvercrowded 










Condition 


Small 


Similar 


Chickens 


Similar 


Some corn 


of 


patches of 


to 


and 


to 


and oats, 


farm 


corn. Few 
horses, some 
poultry, few 


Cherokees 


Turkeys 


Creeks 


chickens 
hogs 




cows, hogs 


(Milk, is 


used as a 


food in few 


families) 


Health 


Tuberculo- 


Tuberculo- 


Trachoma ' 


Similar 


Tuberculo- 




sis common 


sis very 


prevalent 


to 


sis less 




Trachoma 


common. 


Some 


Creeks 


common. 




widespread 


Trachoma 


syphilis 




Best health 




Some Avith 


widesplread. 






conditions 




cocaine 


Use of 






in 5 tribes. 




habit 


whiskey 
near Arkan- 
sas border 









drinking cup and the common towel are used not only in the home, 
but at the large camp gatherings. Tuberculosis presents the great- 
est menace because of the large number of families infected, con- 
stant visiting and gathering in groups, insanitary habits, and ig- 
norance of the cause and spread of disease through insects, especi- 
ally the fly and mosquito. 

Marriage of near relatives appears to be responsible for most 
of the cases of epilepsy. Trachoma is wide-spread. The use of to- 
bacco either as snuff, or in chewing or smoking, is a habit with all 
ages and both sexes. The native "medicine man" is frequently in 
evidence. The best known of these in the Choctaw nation, consult- 
ed at times by whites as well as by the Indian people has a home 
of five rooms. It is in bad repair, without windows, and infested 
with vermin. 



EDUCATION OF INDIANS 313 

Some homes, especially among the Chickasaw people, have 
small patches of corn or oats. There are some cows, although milk 
is used as a food in few families, and the chickens and pigs are 
carried along with the family to the various camp meetings and 
Indian dances, or allowed to wander around until the family's re- 
turn. 

Attempts made by the returned students to improve the condi- 
tions of these dwelling places are thwarted by lack of encourage- 
ment and the lack of material with which to work. Naturally these 
attempts soon cease and the family lives to eat, sleep, and look for- 
ward to the Indian gathering in the summer — the "stomp" dance 
and others, which draw a large crowd of curious whites, many of 
whom profit in the sale of soft drinks and small wares. Frequently 
to these dances come some of the more advanced Indian people 
whose opportunity for healthy recreation is slight. 

The children of this third group are timid in the presence of 
white children, and go to neither public nor government schools 
except under compulsion. They are often undesirable in public 
schools because of the previously mentioned diseases which follow 
lack 6f cleanliness. The extreme distance from public school and 
the danger of creeks that must be crossed make regular public 
school attendance difficult or impossible. 

It may be said in the favor of this group that their condition 
of living is not so much lower than that of their white neighbor's. 
In the Chickasaw and parts of the Choctaw country, it equals or 
surpasses the manner of living of the tenants who occupy the larg- 
er house on the Indian farm. 

The Seminole Indian people, although one of the "Five Tribes" 
have only two social groups, the last two mentioned above. They 
seldom dwell in town and have not advanced to the standards of 
living comparable with those of the average small town. 

In the remainder of the State, class distinctions among the 
Indians are vague and unimportant. Those who live in houses, who 
farm their own land and are careful to see to it that their children 
are in public or government boarding school, feel some little super- 
iority over those who still camp, who take no pride in domestic 
activities, and are markedly careless in the care of the children. 

The use of peyote is one of the greatest factors hindering the 
more rapid development of the Indian people of this group. The 



314 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



tetter conditions in the homes of the Indian people of the western 
group may be accounted for by the presence of missionaries and 
better government help through field matrons and government 
farmers!, for supervision in the west has been much closer than in 
the east. 

SOME FACTS CONCERNING THE CHILDREN. 
In order to have some estimate of the number of Indian chil- 
dren now in boarding schools who should possibly be in public 
schools, a study was made of the homes of the pupils in three of the 
largest government boarding schools in western Oklahoma and 
three of the Tribal schools of eastern Oklahoma with the following 
points in view ; 

(1) To find the number of Indian children now in boarding 
schools who should continue there. 

(2) To find the number of children now in boarding schools 
who might be placed in public schools if provided with the assist- 
ance of a Home and School Visitor or Field matron to act as inter- 
preter of the child to the public school and of the school to the 
home of the child. 

(3) To discover the number of Indian children now in board- 
ing schools whose home conditions are such that they can be in 
available public schools. 

Table 46 discloses the results : 

TABLE 46 
NUMBER OF INDIAN CHILDREN RECOMMENDED 

Eastern Oklahoma. 

For For Public 

Boarding School with 

help of school 
visitor 
30 
12 
18 
60 
Western Oklahoma. 
8 
33 
30 
71 
131 



School 



School 1 


34 


Scohol 2 


87 


School 3 


67 


Total 


188 

1 


School 1 


85 


School 2 


73 


School 3 


60 


Total 


218 


Grand Total 


406 



■ For Public 


Tot 


School without 




school 




visitor 




19 


83 


9 


108 


18 


103 


46 


294 


5 


98 




106 


10 


100 


15 


304 


61 


598 



EDUCATION OF INDIANS 315 

The following conclusions can be deduced: (1) Of the 598 
children on whose home conditions information could be gained, 
406 should continue in boarding schools; (2) 131 might be trans- 
ferred to public schools if provided with the help of a Home and 
School Visitor; (3) 61, only 15 of whom are from the western 
district, might now be in public schools. 

The following conditions make attendance of the majority of 
the pupils in boarding schools either desirable or necessary. 
Financial inability to pay tuition in public schools; distance 
from public school, (three or more miles and difficulties of travel 
where the distances are less) ; lack of home because of death, im- 
morality, separation, and wandering propensities of parents or 
cruelty of step-parents; insanitary home conditions and disease. 

DIFFICULTIES TO BE OVERCOME. 

The following statements from the Grovernment Health Drive 
records throw additional light on the need of boarding schools for 
Indian children, or a radical change in the public school system: 

(1) ''Many Indian children 14 or 15 years of age are in the 
1st and 2nd grade." 

(2) "Indian children in public schools do not always receive 
proper consideration from white pupils and teachers." 

(3) "Indian children enrolled in public schoolsi attend so ir- 
regularly that they receive little benefit." 

(4) "The length of the school year in public schools is short- 
ened because of the necessity for using the children in the cotton 
fields." 

(5) "In the country schools of Oklahoma, hygiene and sani- 
tation are not taught until the 8th grade, which is reached only by 
a few of the Indian children most in need of this information. ' ' 

ENUMERATION, ENROLLMENT AND SCHOOL FACILITIES. 

Table 47, showing enumeration, enrollment and school facilities 
for Indian youth in Oklahoma is based upon facts supplied by the. 
United States Indian bureau for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1922. 
The facts are grouped for each of the Five Tribes in Eastern Okla- 
homa and for the seven reservations or tribal groups of "Western 
Oklahoma. ^ To those unfamiliar with the tribal distribution for the 
State, it is necessary to give the following facts : 



316 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



(1) The Five Civilized Tribes are distributed through the 
forty counties of Eastern Oklahoma. The official reports of the 
Superintendent for those tribes give the counties in which each 
tribe holds lands. The Cherokee Nation lives in various sections 
of the ten counties in Northeastern Oklahoma; the Choctaws are 
in the ten Southeastern counties of the State; the Creeks are in the 
ten counties southwest of the Cherokees; the Chickasaws are im- 
mediately west of the Choctaws; and the Semiiioles are in Seminole 
county, between the counties occupied by the Creeks and the Chick- 
asaws. 

(2) The Western Oklahoma Indians occupy twenty-six coun- 
ties in the middle and western part of the State. They are divided 
into seven groups including nine agencies and portions of twenty- 
five tribes. 

TABLE 47.— ENUMERATION, ENROLLMENT, AND SCHOOL FACILITIES 
FOR INDIAN YOUTH IN OKLAHOMA. 









Enrollment 


in Schools 












Public 


Supported by Govern - 




+j 






June 30, 1922 


Enrollment ^ 

3" 

2, 
Per cent ^ 
attendance 


Government 

Schools 3 

Tribal g 2- 

Schools o 2 

3 ' 

Contract << 3* 
Schools " & 
3 
Total 




s 

1 

o 
Eh 


o 
o 

A 
y 

o 


C 

o 


Cherokee 


10,318 


66.1 


322 


179 




501 


250 


11,069 


1,545 


12,614 


Creek 


2,568 


57.5 


87 


390 




477 


27 


3.072 


1,276 


4,348 


Choctaw 


3,680 


61.7 


178 


230 


336 


744 




4,424 


429 


4,853 


Chickasaw- 


2',031 


64.2 


29 


151 


106 


286 




2,317 


970 


3,287 


Seminole 


167 


40.0 


17 


158 




175 




342 


278 


620 


Total 






















Five Tribes 


18,764 


63.2 


633 


1,108 


442 


2,183 


277 


2 1,2 24 


4,498 


25,722 


Cheyenne & 






















Arapaho 


254 





349 






349 


10 


613 


211 


824 


Kiowa 


738 


75 


507 






507 


42 


1,287 


319 


1,606 


Osage 


532 




82 






82 


166 


780 


73 


853 


Pawnee 


90 




112 






112 




202 


50 


252 


Ponca 


206 


.... 


123 






123 


10 


339 


86 


425 


Seneca 


386 




64 






64 


31 


481 


131 


612 


Shawnee 


275 


78 


164 






164 


59 


498 


6 


504 


Total 






















West Side 


2,481 


76.5 


1,401 






1,401 


318 


4,200 


876 


5,076 


Total for 






















State 


21,245 




2,034 


1,108 


442 


3,584 


595 


25,424 


5,374 


30,798 



EDUCATION OF INDIANS 317 

The significant facts shown in Table 47 are as follows: 

(1) The number of Indian youths of school age (6 to 21) is 
30,798. 

(2) The number enrolled in public, government and mission 
schools is 25,424. The apparently favorable significance of this 
figure is greatly diminished by the fact that the attendance for 
most of the large groups is only about 60 per cent. 

(3) Twenty-one thousand two hundred forty-five (21,245) In- 
dians, forming 84 per cent of the Indian school enrollment, are al- 
ready in public schools'. Owing to the irregularity of attendance, 
short school terms, and the low efficiency of many of the rural 
schools, the educational value of the public school enrollment is ser- 
iously diminished. 

(4) Only 3,584 Indians, or 14 per cent of the Indian school 
enrollment, are in government and tribal schools. This compara- 
tively small proportion by no meansi represents the influence of the 
government schools on Indian education. The government institu- 
tions, of which there are 18 boarding schools and one small day 
school, are well managed and effective in the activities of their 
program. They are far superior to the public rural schools in 
equipment, staff, organization and management. 

The boarding schools train the boys and girls along many 
lines, including not only the usual classroom subjectsi, but also the 
simple elements of mechanical and agricultural operations, cooking 
and sewing, healthful recreations, habits of punctuality and indus- 
try. School life in the dormitory, dining room, classroom, field, 
shop and playground in close association with the teaching staff 
has a very pronounced educational effect upon the pupils. 

Their plants are impressive in quality and size of buildings, 
extensive acerage of land, and agricultural equipment. The large 
size of the plants are in some instances in contrast with the compara- 
tively small number and low ages of the children. 

The following facts concerning the pupils enrolled in the gov- 
ernment schools are both significan4: and interesting : 

(1) Classification of the pupils according to grade shows that 
89 per cent are in grades 1 to 6 inclusive ; 9 per cent in grades 7 to 
8 ; and only 2 per cent above the 8th grade. 

(2) The age classification indicates that 29 per cent are 10 
years of age or under; 47 per cent are 11 to 15 years inclusive; 19 



318 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

per cent are 16 to 18 inclusive ; and 5 per cent are over 1.8 years of 
age. 

(3) According to proportion of Indian blood, the full blood 
Indians are 71 per cent ; the 1-2 to 3-4 bloods are 24 per cent ; and 
1-4 blood are only 5 per cent, 

FINANCIAL SUPPORT. 

The study fo the financial support of education for Indians in 
Oklahoma involves a consideration of appropriations made by Con- 
gress for Indian education, the school expenditures from tribal 
funds, public school taxes, and the loss of income to the State on 
account of the extensive areas of non-taxable lands in the State. 

The reports of the United States Indian bureau present accur- 
ate statements of expenditures for schools supported from congres- 
sional appropriation and tribal funds. In view of the compara- 
tively small number of private and mission schools their expendi- 
tures have not been included. 

Comparison of United States Government appropriations and 
tribal fund payments for Indian education with the amount of po- 
tential taxes which might be levied on the non-taxable Indian lands 
gives some indication of money now available as well as the future 
financial possibilities for Indian education. The following items 
list the various sums expended by the United States Government 
and from the Tribal Funds for the education of Indians in Oklahoma 
during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1922 : 

United States Gratuity appropriations: 

1. Tuition and aid for public 
schools among the Five 

Civilized Tribes $175,000.00 

2. Public school tuition 

in Western Oklahoma 22,932.12 

Total Public School Support ^197,932.12 

3.- Support of Indian Children in 
U. S. Indian schools', from 

(a) Five Civilized Tribes 120,000.00 

(b) Western Oklahoma 252,000.00 

Total expenditures U. S. 

Indian Schools 372,000.00 



EDUCATION OF INDIANS 319 

Payments from Tribal Funds: 

1. Support Tribal Schools 242,800.50 

2. Contract schools among 

Five Tribes 41,997.64 

Total expenditures tribal funds 284,798.14 

Total all government and tribal 

funds $854,730.26 

The potential taxes on untaxed lands can only be estimated on 
the basis of reports obtained from county tax assessors and officers 
of the United States Indian Bureau. The estimates relating to the 
taxation of untaxable lands are as follows : (For additional fig- 
ures, see Appendix B). 

(1) Number of acres of untaxable land 7,000,000 

(2) Average value per acre of untaxable land (1922) $18.33 

(3) Average rate of school taxation (1922) 10 mills 

(4) Taxable value of 7,000,000 acres at $18.33 per acre_$128,300.000 

(5) Potential tax at 10 mills $ 1,283,000 

Comparison of Potential Tax and United States Government 

Expenditures for Indian education : 

Potential Tax .$1,283,000 

Appropriations from U. S, Government 

and Tribal Funds 855,000 



$ 428,000 

The difference between these two figures amounting to $428,- 
000.00 is the present loss to the State because of non-taxable Indian 
lands, and this difference added to the amounts now expended by 
the government from Congressional appropriations and tribal funds 
equals the sum that will become available for the support of public 
schools when the trust period expires. 

Extensions of the trust period have already been ordered by 
Congress in a number of Indian Reservations. The status of the 
Trust Periods is shown in the following statements: 

(1) It is estimated that five and two-thirds million acres of 
the land owned by the Five Civilized Tribes in the 40 counties of 
Eastern Oklahoma will not be taxed until 1931. 

(2) The trust periods of the tribes in Western Oklahoma with 
a total of one and one-third million acres end at varying times rang- 



320 PUBLIC EJDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

ing from 1924 to 1946. The trust period has been extended beyond 
1927 for only a small acreage. 

The responsibility now confronting thosie concerned with Indian 
education is to make available such portions of the $428,000 poten- 
tial tax as are needed to improve the educational methods and fa- 
cilities of schools for Indians. So long as the Trust Periods exclude 
land from State taxation, this responsibility rests largelj'- on the 
Federal Government Avorking through the Indian Bureau. 

INCREASED FEDERAL AID FOR INDIAN EDUCATION 

SHOULD BE SOUGHT. 

It is evident that the United States Government should adopt a 
policy of liberal support for all educational movements providing 
for the preparation of the Indian youth to enter the public school 
system so that the transfer may be made with the least possible 
friction or injustice to the Indians. For the large population of 
Eastern Oklahoma this period of transfer is ten years; for Western 
Oklahoma about five years. 

The economic, hygienic, and tribal conditions of man}' Indians 
indicate the importance of educational activities specially adapted 
to correct the unfavorable conditions of health and morale. In 
view of the comparatively brief time when the Indian youth must 
take their place alongside of the other youth of the State, it is 
urged that serious consideration shall be given to the principles and 
methods of education for the period of transition to the public 
schools of the State. 

These principles and methods are discussed in the following 
paragraphs, and summarized in the Recommendations. It must be 
emphasized in connection with this discussion of the financial sup- 
port of Indian education, and the termination of the non-taxation 
period when all responsibility will be transferred to the State, that 
the State system of education has but a comparatively brief time 
for the preparation of its school facilities and especially those in 
rural districts to assume this important responsibility 

^ TRANSITION PERIOD FROM 
U. S. GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS TO THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 
The history of the Indian People in America shows that they 
are being gradually merged into the general population of the coun- 
try. The policy of U. S. Indian Bureau is in accord with the general 



EDUCATION OF INDIANS 321 

tendency of Indian life. Indians in many States have already been 
taken into the public school system. For instance the Indian youth 
of the Crow Agency in Montana were last year taken over into the 
public school system to the general satisfaction of all concerned. 

The principal parties concerned in this transition period are the 
U. S. Government schools and the public school system. Sound ed- 
ucational policy requires that the responsibility and function of 
both groups of schools shall be clearly recognized. The disregard 
of either group of schools may result in serious injustice to the 
Indian youth. 

(1) U. S. Government Schools, originally offering the only 
school facilities to Indians and still needed to supplement the limit- 
ed school facilities of the State, will be needed for some time' to 
come to provide education for the following special classes: (a) or- 
phans; (b) those subnormal in health; (c) those excluded by pov- 
erty; (d) those living too far from school; (e) those with unfavor- 
able home conditions. 

In addition to the provisions for the more or lessi abnormal 
classes enumerated above, it is urged that these well equipped insti- 
tutions shall eventually be used as vocational secondary schools for 
Indian and white youth, thus increasing such facilities in rural dis- 
tricts. This arrangement will undoubtedly be required as a result 
of the increasing efficiency of the elementary rural schools and as 
they graduate larger numbers of youth desiring advanced educa- 
tional training. 

(2) The Public School System with its numerous school dis- 
tricts is fitted to care for the younger children who can thus re- 
main at home and receive their training in the local schools. As 
other sections of this report show, thevse schools are now often poor- 
ly equipped both as regards teaching staff and school supplies. 
They are largely out of touch and sometimes even out of sympathy 
with the Indian home, "With the provision for thei Home and 
School Visitor described elsewhere these schools will be better pre- 
pared to educate the Indian youth and to become the inspiration 
and guide to the Indian home and community. That this move- 
ment is substantially under way is proved by the fact that practi- 
cally 84 per cent of the Indian school enrollment is already in 
public schools. 

The present status of both federal and State schools will be bet- 
ter understood in the light of the historical conditions attending 

S. S. 11 



322 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

their development. It has been only a short time since what is now 
the great State of Oklahoma was a vast territory of rolling prairies 
and of wooded hills, uninhabited except by buffaloes, deer, turkey 
and other wild game. Then followed the Indians — the Pawnees, 
the Osages, the Cheyenne and Arapahoes; the Shawnees, the Dela- 
wares from the North and East, the Five Tribes from the Southeast, 
and others, all migrating into a country entirely barren of all signs 
of civilization. 

Soon, however, civilization pushed westward, and although the 
Indians had been assured that they would be left undisturbed in 
their western home, the conflict and competition of civilization had 
to be reckoned with because the Indians were not to be moved again. 
To prepare the Indians for the competition which they must meet, 
first came the missionaries) to do their splendid frontier work. La- 
ter, agreements were made with Indians for temporary occupancy 
of parts of their lands, and then the Dawes Land and Severalty Act 
was passed by Congress which provided for the allotment of land 
in severalty to Indians. 

With the sale of the surplus lands and their settlement by white 
people the organization of public schools began. The country was 
discovered to be one of great natural resources and therefore im- 
migration increased very rapidly until the white population soon 
outnumbered the Indian. 

Meantime the Government recognizing the rights of the Indians 
and the fact that they must be prepared to assume the duties of 
citizenship began to provide day schools and boarding schools for 
the education of the Indians until the time when the public school 
system should be developed sufficiently to take care of them and 
until the allotted Indian lands should become subject to taxation. 

Out of an Indian school population of almost 30,000 in Okla- 
homa there are about 21,000 in public schools. On account of lim- 
ited funds, school terms are in many instancesi short, courses are 
confined to mere academic subjects, teachers of meager qualifica- 
tions are employed, attendance laws are unenforced, and buildings 
are unsatisfactory. This is particularly true in the outlying rural 
districts where the majority of the Indians live, 

HOME AND SCHOOL VISITORS SHOULD BE APPOINTED. 

To the end that the public school facilities for Indian children 
may be improved, not only for those already enrolled, but also to 



EDUCATION OF INDIANS 323 

justify the enrollment of still larger numbers of Indian children it 
is urged that Home and School Visitors should be provided in those 
counties having large numbers of Indian children to be educated. 

Briefly stated the duties of the Home and School Visitor should 
be to co-operate with the County Superintendent, the teachers, and 
School Boards in matters of enrollment and attendance, and in the 
improvement of the home life through the introduction of practical 
instruction that will definitely reach out from the schools into the 
homes. The visitor would also enlist the co-operation of every 
available agency, both State and Federal, in Community activities 
looking to improvement of rural conditions. 

The possible agencies in addition to County Superintend- 
ents and teachers w^ould be County Nurse, County Physician, Home 
Demonstration Agents, Truant Officers, Farm Demonstration Ag- 
ents, The Shepherd-Towner Child-Welfare representatives; Govern- 
ment and Tribal School and Agency employees. State Agricultural 
workers, Missionaries, and Mission School teachers. The Home 
and School Visitor should also visit the homes, become thoroughly 
familiar with conditions and thus obtain information that would 
enable her to make practical suggestions not only to the occupants 
of the home, but also to all co-operating agencies for the improve- 
ment of the home and community conditions. 

It is suggested that as the work of the Home and School Visit- 
ors would have largely to do wath Indian homes, the Federal gov- 
ernment should contribute liberally to the fund for their employ- 
ment during the continuation of the trust period. It is believed that 
there should be at least thirty Home and School Visitors for East- 
em Oklahoma located among the P^ve Civilized Tribes, and ten in 
Western Oklahoma. They should be selected through the co-opera- 
tion of the County Superintendents and the school representatives 
of the Indian Bureau, The salaries should be adequate to secure 
women who have the educational qualifications required of first 
grade teachers and in addition definite' training in Social Welfare. 

RECOMMENDATIONS. 

(1) The school system should be organized so that the Indian 
youth shall ultimately be educated in the public schools of the 
State. To this end the responsibility of the Federal Government 
will gradually decrease, and that of the State will increase, until 
the schools are entirely controlled and maintained by the State. In 



324 

view of the fact that the trust periods on Indian lands are to expire 
within five to ten years, unless extended by Congress, it is import- 
ant that the State shall make all possible effort to improve the rural 
schools of the Indian districts, incorporating in the curriculum 
those phases of education which are vitally related to home life 
so that the Federal government may resign its responsibility in 
favor of the State, with the assurance that satisfactory standards 
of education will be maintained. 

(2) Home and School Visitors should be provided in the coun- 
ties having large numbers of Indian children. These workers are 
to study the Indian homes and the schools, and to enlist the help 
of all county agencies for their improvement. During the trust 
period the Federal government should give liberal financial aid for 
the employment of these workers. As indicated elsewhere 40 vis- 
itors will be needed 

(3) The present system of Federal and Tribal boarding schools 
should be continued so long as necessary to care for special classes 
of Indian children, such as orphans, and those unable to attend 
public schools on account of bad health, poverty, distance from 
school, or other disabilities. 

(4) The government school plants should be eventually ac- 
quired by the State of Oklahoma, to be used as secondary training 
schools offering trade courses, agriculture, and home economics to 
white and Indian youths. 

(5) The Federal government should provide liberal financial 
aid for the education of Indian children in public schools during 
the Trust period. 



CHAPTER X. 
EDUCATION OF NEGROES. 

SIZE AND DISTRIBUTION OF NEGRO POPULATION. 

The State of Oklahoma has a population of 2,028,283, and of 
this number, 149,408, or 7.4 per cent are Negroes. The Federal 
Census of 1910 reported the Negro population as 137,612, so that 
the actual increasie in 10 years was 11,796, and the per cent in- 
crease 8.6. The Negro population is 67.9 per cent rural. 

In 1910, the Negro urban population was 36,982, and in 1920 
it was 47,904, an actual increase of 10,922 or 29.5 per cent. The 
rural population was 100,630 in 1910 and 101,504 in 1920, an in- 
ereas^j of 874, or less than one per cent. The census reports as 
"urban" those who live in cities of 2,500 or more. It is evident 
from these figures that between 1910 and 1920 there was a decided 
movement of Negroes from the country districts to towns and cities. 
This was due to economic and other causes. It seems reasonable to 
assume, however, that one of the causes wasi the better school fa- 
cilities offered by the cities. 

The Negro population is largely concentrated in a few counties. 
According to the 1920 report of the State Superintendent of Public 
Instruction, 27 counties have less than 100 Negro children of school 
age. In 52 of the 77 counties in the State, the Negro population 
forms less than 10 per cent of the total. 

Table 48 shows the population of the 15 counties, in which the 
Negro population forms more than 10 per cent of the total, and also 
shows the number and per cent of illiterates. 

In the counties named in Table 48 the rural Negro population 
exceeds the urban, with the exception of the counties of Muskogee 
and Tulsa. Of the 10,903 Negroes in Tulsa County, 9,291 live in 
Tulsa and Sand Springs, while the Negro population of 15,310 in 
Muskogee County is almost equally divided between city and coun- 
try. Tulsa has the largest Negro population of all the cities of the 
State, 8,878, Oklahoma City is next, with 8,241. But Muskogee has 

325 



326 



PUBLIC KDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



a population 23.8 per cent Negro — a larger per cent than any other 
city with a total population of 10,000 or more. 

TABLE 48. 

Number and Per Cent of Negroes in Fifteen Counties in Oklahoma 
and Number and Per Cent of Illiterates. 

Negro Per Cent Negro Illiterates Per Cent 

County Population of Total 10 years of age of Negro 

and over Illiteracy 

Carter 4,267 10.6 466 14.2 

Choctaw 5,242 16.3 721 18.3 

Creek — 6,794 10.9 487 9.7 

Kingfisher 1,623 10.4 114 8.9 

Lincoln 3,955 11.8 268 9.4 

Logan 6,422 23.3 522 10.8 

McCurtain 6,914 18.2 1029 19.6 

Mcintosh 5,950 22.5 757 17.6 

Muskogee 15,310 24.8 1176 ^ 9.8 

Okfuskee 8.617 34.4 . 685 11.0 

Okmulgee 9,791 17.8 889 11.9 

Seminole 4,517 19.0 428 13.1 

Sequoyah 2,766 10.3 357 17.3 

Tulsa 10,903 10.0 710 8.1 

Wagoner 7,093 33.2 643 14.1 

, Total 100,164 9352 

The fifteen counties named in Table 48 have 67.4 per cent of 
Oklahoma's entire Negro population. It isi evident, therefore, that 
the problem of Negro education in Oklahoma is more a problem 
of rural than of urban education at the present time. The census 
figures prove, however, that it is /tending to become an urban prob- 
lem. Unless the Negro Rural schools are improved the relatively 
superior school facilities in towns and cities will operate, with other 
influences, to stimulate the townward drift of the Negroes. 

A line dra^vn due " east from Oklahoma City will cut across 
five counties named in Table 48, one drawn due north and south 
will cut across two; and the remaining eight may be located as 
follows : One, northwest ; three, southwest ; and four, northeast of 
Oklahoma City, the approximate center of the State. 

In Oklahoma County, 8,241 of the 11,401 Negroes live in Okla- 



EDUCATION OF NEGROES 327 

homa City; in Grady County, 1,183 of the 1,478 live in Chickasha; 
in Pittsburg County, 2,467 of the 4,005 live in McAlester and Harts- 
home, and in several counties where the Negro population is small, 
it is mostly urban, as in "Washington County, where 526 of the 763 
Negroes live in Bartlesville. ' 

ILLITERACY IN OKLAHOMA. 

In the State of Oklahoma, there are 56,864 illiterate persons 
ten years of age and over, according to the United States Census 
of 1920. Of this number 14,205 or 24.9 per cent, are Negroes. There 
were 48,076 illiterate persons twenty-one years of age or over, of 
whom 12,491 or 25.9 per cent are Negroes. In view of the fact that 
the Negroes constitute only 7.4 per cent of the State's population, 
these facts indicate that the school facilities for Negroes are not 
equal to those provided for white children. Certainly the schools 
have been less effective in the case of the Negroes, so far as the 
elimination of illiteracy is concerned. Illiteracy in Oklahoma, how- 
ever, has doubtless been affected by adult Negro illiterates moving 
into the State, and also of Negroes over ten years of age who have 
ceased to attend school. Table 49 gives some data on Negro illit- 
eracy in Oklahoma. 

TABLE 49. 
NEGRO ILLITERACY IN OKLAHOMA 1910-1920. 

1910 1920 Percent 

Number Per cent Number Per cent Decrease 

10 years and over 17,858 17.7 14,205 12.4 5.3 

Male 8,802 16.4 7,368 12.5 3.9 

Female 9,056 19.1 6,837 12.3 6.8 

21 years and over 15,217 22.7 12,491 16.4 6.3 

Male 7,396 20.1 6,322' 15.8 4.3 

Female 7,821 25.9 6,169 17.0 8.9 

Urban — 

10 years and over 3,688 12.4 3,419 8.6 3.8 

21 years and over 3,376 15.3 3,282 11.3 4.0 

Rural — 

10 years and over 14,170 19.9 10,786 14.4 5.5 

21 years and over 11,841 26.3 9,209 19.5 6.8 

Table 49 shows that in ten years, Negro illiteracy was reduced 
5.3 per cent in the case of persons ten years of age and over, and 6.3 
per cent in the case of adults. The actual reduction was 3,633. The 
table also shows that the rural Negroes are more illiterate than those 
in cities, and that the reduction of illiteracy was greater in the case 



328 PUBLIC EJDUCATION IN OKLAHQMA 

of the rural population. This is due to the fact that it is easier to 
obtain a considerable decrease in illiteracy where illiteracy is large 
than where it is small. 

OCCUPATIONS FOLLO^VED BY NEGROES. 

Farming is the most important occupation followed by Negroes 
in the State. In the towns and cities where the Negro population 
is large, the Negroes furnish a considerable part of the unskilled 
labor, and an important part of the skilled labor. They engage in 
various forms of domestic service, serve as porters in stores, bell 
boys and waiters in hotels, truck drivers, etc. Among the skilled 
occupations followed by them may be mentioned the building trades, 
especially carpentry, brick laying, plastering, and painting. A con- 
siderable number engage in such trades as shoe repairing, tailoring, 
cleaning, and pressing. The two professions most largely repre- 
sented among them are teaching and the ministry. Other profes- 
sions, the medical profession, for instance, are gaining in prom- 
inence. In recent years a number of so-called "race enterprises" 
have been developed, and these enterprises use more employees 
every year. The Negro insurance companies may be cited as an 
example of this. 

IMPORTANCE OF PROPER TRAINING FOR NEGROES. 

The White people of Oklahoma have a direct interest in the 
welfare of the Negroes, although some White people may not realize 
that fact. If illiteracy is removed in Oklahoma, Negro illiteracy as 
well as white, must go. Figures have already been cited to show 
that 25 per cent of the illiterates in the State are colored. This 
means that much of the Negro labor on the farm and in the city 
must be inefficient. 

Mere literacy, however, is no guarantee of industrial or agri- 
cultural efficiency. Thousands of literate Negroes are unskilled and 
have very little education. If many of these could be transformed 
into skilled workers with a reasonable amount of education, the 
economic gain to the State would be very great. In this connection 
it should be remarked that most of the Negro labor is employed by 
white people. From the standpoint of health alone the white peo- 
ple should be concerned about the Negroes' welfare and progress. 
A low economic status means a Ioav plane of living, and often means 
also insanitary home conditions. In cities, the occupations followed 
by many Negroes bring them into contact with White people. This 



EDUCATION OF NEGROES 329 

is certainly true of those engaged in all forms of domestic service. 
The foregoing statements must not be taken to include all occu- 
pations followed by Negroes. In a State like Oklahoma there is, 
naturally, a great variety. In Pittsburg County, for instance, there 
are many Negroes employed as miners. It is evident that any real 
program of education for the Negroes must be broad enough to 
include training along many lines. While agricultural and indus- 
trial training should receive large emphasis, the proper training of 
those who will engage in teaching, the ministry, medicine, and other 
professions, is of great importance because the leaders of the race 
will come from that group. 

THE TYPES OP NEGRO SCHOOLS IN OKLAHOMA. 

The White schools in Oklahoma are classified as follows: those 
in independent districts, those in village districts, those in consol- 
idated districts, those in union graded districts, and rural or un- 
graded schools. 

The Negro schools are classified in the same way in the Report 
of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, but the classifica- 
tion does not mean the same thing as in the case of White schools. 
A White school reported as independent is an accredited high school, 
located in an incorporated city or town. These schools are reported 
by the city or town superintendent, who also has supervision of the 
colored school and makes a report on it. Thus, the white schools 
of the city of Sapulpa are in an independent district, and so is the 
colored school. But this does not mean that the colored school is 
an accredited high school. 

The Negro schools reported as in independent districts are 
those located in a city or town, where the White school is accredited. 
Except in the town of Boley, the White town and city schools re- 
ceive all the school funds raised by taxation in the district, while 
the Negro schools are "separate" or "minority" schools, financed 
by a county-wide levy of two mills, or less, made by the county 
excise board. This board is composed of one county commissioner 
and the county judge (chairman), the county clerk (secretary), the 
county treasurer, the county assessor, the county attorney, and the 
county school superintendent. 

A Negro school in a city or town, reported as independent, may 
be an accredited high school, as in Guthrie, or a one-teacher school, 
as in Poteau. The Negro school at Hugo has three teachers. This 
group contains the best Negro schools in the State, and also some 



330 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

of the poorest. They can be put into one class only by reason of 
the fact that they are all located in cities or towns. 

The White schools located in villages are reported as "village 
districts" and the colored schools in those districts are reported in 
the same way. All of the "White schools so reported have more than 
one teacher, but the Negro village school may have one or more 
teachers. The Negro village school is a "separate" school in most 
cases, but some of them are district schools, having a colored board 
of directors, and supported by a district tax. The school at Clear- 
view in Okfuskee County is an example of this. 

The White consolidated schools are those organized under the 
law providing for their establishment. The Negro schools located 
in these districts are reported as consolidated, but they are only 
rural schools. They are left in the same condition as before the 
White schools were consolidated. There are four consolidated Negro 
•schools in the State: Arcadia and Luther, in Oklahoma County, 
Lincoln School in Carter County, and Wellston School in Lincoln 
County. All of these schools are "separate" schools, but all the 
White consolidated schools are district schools. 

A union graded school is one organized under the law providing 
for such schools. The Negro schools reported as "union graded" 
are those in districts where the White schools are union graded 
There is no union graded Negro school in the State. 

The white and colored schools reported as "rural" are the 
small ungraded country schools, usually with one or two teachers. 
All types of schools are under the direct supervision of the county 
superintendent, except those in independent districts. 

It is evident, therefore, that there are only four classes of Negro 
schools — those in towns or cities, village schools, consolidated schools 
and rural schools. The consolidated schools and the town and city 
schools in larger cities like Guthrie, are by far the most efficient 
schools. Of the 44,557 Negro children enrolled in the schools, 26,957 
are in village or rural schools, including the very few who are in 
the consolidated schools named. Some of the two-teacher rural 
schools are well equipped and taught. Some of this type were found 
in Wagoner County. These were district schools. The Negro dis- 
trict schools are, as a group, better financed and superior to the 
separate schools. The Red Bird and Tullahassee district schools in 
Wagoner County, and the Sand Creek and Childsville district schools 
in Okfuskee County are first-class village and rural schools. 



EDUCATION OF NEGROES 331 

LEGAL PROVISIONS FOR NEGRO EDUCATION. 

The law of Oklahoma providing for separation of the races in 
schools is as follows : 

Section 280. The public schools of the State of Oklahoma shall 
be organized and maintained upon a complete plan of separation 
between the white and colored races, with impartial facilities for 
both races. 

Section 281. The term "Colored" as used in the preceding 
section shall be construed to mean all persons of African descent, 
who possess any quantam of Negro blood, and the term "white" 
shall include all other persons. The term "public school" within 
the meaning of this article, shall include all schools provided for or 
maintained, in whole or in part, at public expense. (From the 
School Laws of Oklahoma, 1921). 

The law for the maintenance of separate schools is as follows: 

Section 282. The county separate school in each district is 
hereby declared to be that school in said school district of the race 
having the fewest number of children in said school district : Pro- 
vided, that the county superintendent of public instruction of each 
county shall have authority to designate what school or schools in 
each school district shall be the separate school and which class of 
children — either white or colored — shall have the privilege of at- 
tending such separate school or schools in said school district. Mem- 
bers of the district school board shall be of the same race as the 
children who are entitled to attend the school of the district, not 
the separate school. 

Section 287. Support for Separate Schools : In all cases where 
County Separate Schools for white and colored children are main- 
tained, the County Excise Board shall annually levy a tax roll on 
all taxable property in their respective counties, sufficient to main- 
tain such separate schools as are hereinafter provided. Upon esti- 
mate made by the County Commissioners, said taxes shall be 
estimated, published, levied and collected, in the same manner as 
other taxes for county purposes ; provided, however, that in all in- 
dependent districts where separate schools for white and colored 
children are maintained, it shall be the duty of the Board of Educa- 
tion therein at the time of preparing of their annual budget, to pre- 
pare a separate budget of the amount of money that will be required 
to be raised by taxation for the support and maintenance of such 
separate schools, including the amount necessary to purchase sites 



332 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

and to erect school buildings for such separate schools for the com- 
ing fiscal year, and it shall thereupon be the duty of the County Ex- 
cise Boards in such counties to levy a tax on all taxable property 
in their respective counties sufficient to pay the cost of supporting 
and maintaining such separate schools and purchasing sites and 
erecting school buildings for such separate schools as sho"\\Ti by such 
budget and which said tax shall be published, levied, and collected 
in the same manner as other taxes for county purposes, and when 
collected shall be paid over to the respective Treasurers of the Board 
of Education in such districts, to be expended upon the order of 
such Board of Education for the purpose for which same was levied 
and collected. No white child shall attend a colored school or a 
colored child attend a white school. (Sec. 1, S. B. 71, 'S. L. 1919.) 

DISTRICT AND SEPARATE SCHOOLS. 

All the public schools are either district or separate schools. 
There are only 92 colored district schools in the State. On the other 
hand, the total enrollment in the white separate schools is only 994 
in the entire State. It is therefore evident that most of the Negro 
schools are separate schools, or "minority" schools. The law of 
Oklahoma provides that all the district school tax shall go to main- 
tain the school for the race that is in the majority. Thus, all the 
school district tax in Oklahoma City goes to support the white 
schools. The Negro schools in Oklahoma City and in all other cities 
except Boley, are supported by a county-wide tax levy of two mills 
or less. In some counties the levy has been less than two mills. A 
school district tax may be levied up to 15 mills. 

Under the law, the county superintendent has the power to de- 
clare either race in the majority and there is no appeal from his 
decision. It is well known that in a number of districts Avhere all 
the district school tax goes to the white school, the Negroes are 
actually in the majority. This is stated simply as a fact and not 
as a criticism of the county superintendent. 

It is easy to see that as a rule a district school can be better 
financed than a separate school. In this connection it should be 
remembered that the county levy must provide all the money for 
building, equipping, and maintaining these separate schools. The 
policy of erecting buildings out of maintenance funds is unsound. 
The law has worked a hardship on a number of Negro schools in 
towns and cities, because under the law, bonds cannot be issued to 



EDUCATION OF NEGROES 333 

erect buildings, nor can the town or city pay for the building in 
any way except by a county levy. 

The following paragraphs are taken from page 39 of the 1920 
Report of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction : 

"In the beginning each district in the State was required to 
maintain all public schools within its boundaries, the school for the 
"Whites and the school for the Negroes. The Third Legislature passed 
a law providing that the local district tax shall be used to maintain 
the school attended by the race which has a majority in the district, 
and that the minority schools, or separate schools, as they are called, 
shall be supported by a levy made on all the taxable property in the 
county. This act has served to relieve the majority schools by mak- 
ing all money derived from the local district levy available for the 
support of the majority schools. 

While this plan materially relieves the districts in which both 
races reside, it is a fact that in many districts where the boards 
would like to make the separate school as efficient as the majority 
school, they are unable to do so because of the fact that the two mill 
levy limit for county school purposes is insufficient to equip and 
maintain the separate schools equal to the standard maintained by 
the city schools where the majority of the children who attend sep- 
arate schools reside. Many city boards have expressed themselves 
as being anxious to make the school advantages equal but are un- 
able to do so under the law. 

"On the other hand, there are a great many school districts in 
the State having no Negro population at all that are voting the limit 
of fifteen mills to maintain their schools, and because they happen 
to be located in counties having a large Negro population they are 
compelled to pay one mill extra on all their property to support 
the separate schools of other districts, some of which are not re- 
quired to vote the limit for all school purposes, and it frequently 
happens that the negro schools of the cities are better supported 
financially than a very large number of the village and rural schools 
where they vote the maximum levy for local school purposes. 

As a matter of practice, the Negro District Schools are located 
in those districts where the population is entirely Negro, or prac- 
tically so. Thus, there are nine Negro district schools in Wagoner 
County, and in these districts very few white people live. There 
are only two white separate schools in the county. Whatever may 
have been the intention of the law, making the minority school a 



334 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

separate school, its effect has been to make most of the Negro 
schools separate schools. Many of the Negro district schools are 
located in Negro towns and villages, like Lima in Seminole County. 

PRACTICAL EFFECT OF LAW A HANDICAP ON NEGRO 

EDUCATION. 

The separate school law does not work a hardship on the Ne- 
groes in counties like Oklahoma, Tulsa and Carter, where the Negro 
population is relatively small, and the valuation large. It does work 
a hardship, however, on the Negroes in counties like Wagoner, Choc- 
taw, Okfuskee, McCurtain, and Seminole and in some others. In 
these coimties the Negro population is relatively large and the valu- 
ation small, as compared with Oklahoma's rich counties, and the 
permissable county levy of two mills for separate schools is in- 
adequate. 

It is easy to see how this law would result in injustice to the 
Negroes in rural counties, dependent for the most part on taxes 
levied on farm lands, unless the Negro population in the county is 
small. The Negro district schools of the counties named, and of 
some other counties, have, as a rule, well paid Negro teachers who 
are qualified to teach. It is obviously impossible, however, to build, 
equip, and maintain the 22 separate Negro schools in a county like 
Wagoner, from a county levy of two mills. 

The separate school law is unjust to both races, and cannot be 
defended, as a matter of principle. Its injustice to the Negroes is 
manifest. The Negro taxpayers of Oklahoma City, and of all dis- 
tricts in the State where the district school is a white school, are 
taxed 15 mills or less to support the white schools, or school. In 
addition they are taxed tAvo mills or less to maintain their own 
schools, in Oklahoma County, including those in Oklahoma City. 
In addition, they are taxed to help retire bonds that have been 
issued. These bonds were issued to build white schools. 

Other examples of injustice worked by this law may be men- 
tioned. The separate school law has defeated what was apparently 
the intention of the people — that ''impartial facilities" be provided 
for white and colored children. Oklahoma City caimot, directly, 
by bond issues or otherwise, spend any money to build and equip 
Negro schools. The result is that while Oklahoma City has some 
of the best equipped and finest white school buildings in the coun- 
try, the Negro schools are not in keeping with the wealth and 
progress of the city. 



EDUCATION OF NEGROES 335 

The County School Superintendents of Wagoner and Okfuskee 
Counties stated that, under the law, sufficient funds could not be 
secured to maintain the separate (Negro) schools properly. The 
white and colored schools should be financed in the same way, un- 
der a county unit system. Oklahoma's "separate school law" is 
peculiar to this State and no other State has any such law. 

PUBLIC SCHOOL STATISTICS. 

According to the figures of the State Department of Public 
Instruction for the year ending June 30, 1922, the enumeration of 
children of school age in Oklahoma was 647,038 White children and 
50,578 Negro children. School age includes children 6 to 20, both 
inclusive. Of the Negro children of school age, 19,473 were enum- 
erated in independent systems, which are incorporated towns where 
there is an accredited high school for the White pupils. In districts 
where there were "village" white schools, 4,004 Negro children 
were enumerated. The remaining 27,101 were enumerated as being 
in rural schools, that is, in being in districts where the white school 
is consolidated, union graded, or rural. This number includes those 
districts which have Negro district schools, 92 in all, where the 
M^hite school, if any, is a separate school, supported by a county 
levy of two mills or less. 

Of the 50,578 Negro children of school age, 44,557 are enrolled. 
It is probable that this figure is too large, due to the fact that some 
children are enrolled in two schools during the year, and thus 
counted twice. Hence 88.9 per cent of those enumerated are en- 
rolled. The per cent of White children enrolled is 87.4. The average 
daily attendance for the Negro schools is 26,181, or 58.7 per cent 
of the enrollment. The per cent for the White schools is 64.5. These 
facts for the Negro schools are shown in Table 50. The Negro 
schools have been put in three groups. — city (independent district), 
village, and rural. 

TABLE 50. 

ENUMERATION, ENROLLMENT, AND AVERAGE ATTENDANCE 

OF NEGRO SCHOOLS. 

Enum- Enroll- Per cent Average Per cent 

eration ment enrolled attendance attendance 

Independent districts 19,473 17,600 90.5 11,584 65.8 

Village 4,004 3,871 96.6 2,308 59.6 

Rural 27,101 23,086 85.2 12,289 53.6 



Total 50,578 44,557 88.9 26,181 58.7 

As there are 1,170 colored teachers, and 44,557 pupils enrolled, 
the number of pupils enrolled per teacher is 37. Table 51 shows this 



336 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

figure for each group of school, city, village, and rural. The aver- 
age lamiual teacher's salary is $716.71. In the city colored schools, 
the average is $985.50; in the village schools, $697.74; and in the 
rural schools, $537.82. 

TABLE 51. 

NUMBER OF TEACHERS, TEACHERS PER CHILD ENROLLED, SAli- 
ARIES AND AVERAGE TEACHER'S SALARY. 

No. of Teachers per Teachers' Average annual 

Teachers Child enrolled Salaries Salary 

Independent Districts 481 36 $454,026.24 $985150 

Village 87 44 60,704.13 697.74 

Rural 602 38 323,826.29 537.82 



Total 1170 37 $838,556.66 $716.71 

The average annual teachers' salary in the several classes of 
w^hite schools are as follows : Independent district $1,202.37 ; vil- 
lage $1,036.05; consolidated $965.75; union graded $921.97; rural 
$828.51. 

The grades of license held by colored teachers is an index of 
the teaching and of the preparation of teachers. Those teachers 
who hold any of the various State licenses are reported as "first 
grade." All State licenses, except the temporary license, issued to 
teachers from other States, are regarded as equal to or higher than 
a first-grade county license. The examination for a first-grade 
license includes 20 subjects and takes the applicant three days to 
complete. Of the 1,170 teachers, 630, or 53.8 per cent, have first- 
grade licenses; 322, or 27.5 per cent, have second grade, and 218 
or 18.7 per cent, have third grade licenses. See Table 52. 

TABLE 52. 
GRADE OF LICENSES HELD BY NEGRO TEACHERS. 



First Grade 


Second Grade 


Third Grade 












Grand 


Male 


Female Total 


Male Female Total 


Male Female Total 


Total 


Independent 










Districts 107 


123 230 


39 122 161 


5 85 90 


481 


Village 25 


39 64 


3 11 14 


18 9 


87 


Rural 97 


239 336 


32 115 147 


20 99 119 


602 



Total 229 401 630 74 248 322 26 192 218 1170 

The total amount invested in school property is $1,571,990, and 
the per capita value, based on enrollment is $35.28, In independent 
districts, the per capita amount is $55.82 ; in village schools, $28.71 ; 
and in the rural schools, $20.71. The figures for the white schools 
are: for the State $80.74; for independent districts $140.29; for 
village schools $56.38; for consolidated schools $34.88; for union 
graded schools, $59.48 ; and for rural schools, $27.86. 



EDUCATION OF NEGROES 337 

The per capita cost, based on enrollment is $24.10 in the colored 
schools, for the State as a whole. In the white schools, tlie cost is 
$37.87. The per capita cost for the several types of Negro schools 
is as follows: independent districts, $31.40; village, $19.44; rural, 
$17.59. 

Since the colored schools have an average daily attendance of 
26,181, while there are 50,578 negro children of school age, there 
are 24,397 of school age, who are not in average attendance. This 
condition of affairs means educational inefficiency and too small a 
return in educational results for the money being spent. One cause 
of this is the fact that outside of the independent systems, there 
are 497 colored one-teacher schools ; 94 two-teacher schools ; and 37 
schools with three or more teachers. These figures are for 1920 and 
are the latest available. In order for a one-teacher school to be 
efficient, it must have a suitable building, good equipment, a cap- 
able teacher and supervision. Without these, the inherent defects 
of a one-teacher school will not be offset to any large extent. 

HIGH SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLS IN CITIES AND TOWNS. 

In Oklahoma the enrollment of Negro pupils in high school 
grades is 1,467, 434 boys and 1,033 girls. These pupils were dis- 
tributed among the several grades as shown in Table 53, 

TABLE 53 
High School Enrollment by Grades. 





Schools in 


Village and 




Grade 


Independent 
Districts 


Rural Schools 


Total 


Ninth 


580 


79 


659 


Tenth 


348 


35 


383 


Eleventh 


209 


23 


232 


Twelfth 


182 


11 


193 



Total 1319 148 1467 

It will be seen from Table 53 that nearly all the high school 
pupils are in independent district schools, that is, city or town 
schools. The high school pupils form only 8.2 per cent of the total 
enrolled in the city and town schools. 

There are 117 high school teachers, of whom 102 are in city and 
town schools. Of these, 59 are men and 43 Avomen. These teachers 



338 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



constitulje 23 per cent of all teachers in colored schools of cities 
and towns. 

There are 11 accredited Negro High Schools. The following 
list shows the town and county where these schools are located, and 
the units offered by each school. 

LOCATION AND NUMBER OF UNITS OFFERED BY 
ACCREDITED NEGRO HIGH SCHOOLS OF OKLAHOMA. 



Town 

Boley 

Chickasha 

Guthrie 

Luther 

McAlester 

Muskogee 

Nowata 

Oklahoma City 

Red Bird 

Tulsa 

Chandler 



County Units 

Okfuskee 32.5 

Grady* 16. 

Logan* 23.5 

Oklahoma 24. 

Pittsburg 16. 

Muskogee 17. 

Nowata 22.5 

Oklahoma 25.5 

Wagoner 14. 

Tulsa 20.5 

Lincoln 11. 



All of the above schools are separate, except Red Bird and 
Boley, which are district. Schools marked (*) have teacher-train- 
ing classes in high school, under the State organization of that 
work. 

The average monthly salary paid these colored high school 
teachers in 1921 was $106.72. In the white high schools the aver- 
age salary was $117.27. 

As it is obvious that no pupils will go to high school except 
those who complete the eighth grade, the success of the high schools 
depends in a large measure on the efficiency and holding power 
of the grade schools. As most of the high schools are in towns and 
cities, it will be interesting to know how many pupils are eliminated 
from the various grades each year in these schools. 

TABLE 54. 

' WHITE 

High School Promoted to High School 

Graduates High School Graduates 

55 5,033 2,012 

103 6,020 3,359 

158 11,053 5,371 



COLORED 






Promoted to 




High School 


Boys 


142 


Girls 


228 


Total 


370 



EDUCATION OF NEGROES 



339 



Table 54 shows the number of pupils promoted to high school, 
and graduating from high school. 

. Table 55 shows the number of boys and girls enrolled in the 
several grades of the city and town schools, and the differences in 
enrollment between the grades. It also shows the total enrollment 
in each grade, added to that of the grades below : 

TABLE 55. 

Enrollment by Grades, 1920-21 of Negro Schools in 111 

Independent Districts. 

Grade Boys Girls Total Loss Between Total up to 



Primer 


153 


161 


319 


First 


2,398 


2,211 


4,609 


Second 


1,190 


1,218 


2,408 


Third 


1,130 


1,185 


2,315 


Fourth 


952 


1,001 


1,953 


Fifth 


729 


840 


1,569 


Sixth 


548 


715 


1,263 


Seventh 


416 


601 


1,017 


Eighth 


328 


496 


824 



rrades 


Grade 




319 




4,928 


2,201 


7,336 


93 


9,651 


362 


11,604 


384 


13,173 


306 


14,436 


246 


15,453 


193 


16,277 



Total 



7,849 8,428 16,277 



In Table 55 the sixth column shows the total up to, and in- 
cluding the grade. Thus the figure 9^51 shows that the total 
enrollment of the first three grades, including the primer class, was 
9,651. As the total enrollment of the first eight grades is 16,277, 
it is clear that before the fourth grade is reached, half of the pupils 
are eliminated from school, or else are repeating grades. With 
4,609 pupils in the first grade, there are only 1,953 in the fourth 
grade. 

These figures indicate clearly that the primary work in these 
to^\^l and city schools is inefficient, because of too many pupils to 
the teacher, poor teaching, lack of suitable equipment, lack of equip- 
ment, lack of supervision, and other causes. More than half of 
the total enrollment in eight grades is found in the first three 
grades. Undoubtedly many pupils repeat grades, and thus be- 
come retarded, or older than they should be for their grade. If 
250 pupils in a school system repeat a grade each year, there is a 
total loss of 250 years. These pupils cannot make up this time. 



340 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

which is greater loss than the loss in money represented by the in- 
efficiency of the work in the first grade. 

In the small towns, the Negro schools often have only three 
or four teachers. In those visited, the principal was found teach- 
ing from 12 to 20 pupils, while the primary teacher was making 
an effort to teach 46 pupils in the first and second grades. This 
was the case at Weleetka. In Hugo the principal had 12 pupils 
present in his class room, while the primary teacher had 48 pupils 
present. 

AVhen such conditions as this exist, it is small wonder that 
the pupils are rapidly eliminated from school. Economic con- 
siderations alone would eliminate many, however. There is a 
great need of more effective teaching in the primary grades of 
the toAvn and city schools. More teachers are needed, in order that 
there may not be more than 35 pupils to the teacher; more class- 
room space should be provided, so that there will not be overcrowd- 
ing in primary rooms, as there is at present in many of these schools ; 
and more supervision must be given to this work, if the pupils 
are to be kept in school. In the city schools, the high school 
teachers are nearly all college graduates with successful experience 
in school work ; as a group, they are superior to the grade teachers. 

NEW TYPES OF WORK TO HOLD PUPILS IN SCHOOL. 

In order that the elimination from the upper grades may be 
reduced, vocational courses should be given in the seventh grade, 
and in some schools, probably in the sixth. It may as well be 
recognized that some of the pupils in those grades will not complete 
a high school course, and these are the very ones who need some 
vocational training in order that they may engage in some semi- 
skilled occupation on leaving school. 

There can be little doubt that this change would result in more 
pupils going to high schools. Pupils soon tire of a course made up 
entirely of paper work. They are unable to see the value of the 
work done in school, as it has little coimection with their daily 
lives. If the pupil could be convinced that their earning capacity 
was being increased in direct proportion to the time spent in school, 
the elimination would be much smaller. 

Organization of the schools so as to provide for junior high 
school work, on the 6-3-3 plan, would strengthen the Negro schools. 
This organization has been introduced in some of the Negro schools, 
but mot to the same extent as in the White schools. 



EDUCATION OF NEGROES 341 

In the town and city schools, the average annual cost per pupil 
is $33.66 in the case of the white pupils in the first eight grades, 
and $35.00 in the* case of the colored pupils. The figures for the 
grades 9-12 are: white pupils $82.93, colored $96.43. The 
higher cost in the colored high schools is due to the smaller num- 
ber of pupils enrolled. The number is so much larger in the case 
of the white schools, that the white and colored schools can hardly 
be corapared on this basis. 

In the town and city schools the value of elementary school 
plants is $21,338,747, and of high school plants $17,185,322, a total 
of $38,524,071, in the case of the white schools; the value of the 
colored elementary school plants is $729,053, and the high school 
plants $375,239, a total of $1,104,292. 

Table 56 shows the enrollment, teachers, and pupils per teacher 
for elementary and high school grades of white and colored schools 
of independent districts. 

TABLE 56. 

Enrollment, Teachers and Pupils Per Teacher in White and 
Colored Schools of Independent Districts. 
White Schools 
Grades Enrollment Teachers Pupils per Teacher 

1-8 194,306 4,683 41.6 

9-12 40,085 2,117 18.9 

Total 234,391 6,800 34.4 

Colored Schools 
1-8 16,277 379 44.9 

9-12 1,323 102 12.9 

Total 17,600 481 36.6 

SPECIAL ACTIVITIES AIDED BY EDUCATIONAL FOUND- 
ATIONS 

A considerable part of the time of the Rural School Agent, 
whose salary and expenses are paid by the General Education 
Board, has been devoted to the following activities in which aid 
has been secured from the Julius Rosenwald Fund, the John F. 
Slater Fund, the Anna T. Jeanes Fund, and the General Education 
Board. 

In 1920-21 and in 1921-22, $19,430 was secured from the Julius 
Rosenwald Fund to aid in building model school buildings for Ne- 
groes. This money was given especially for the improvement of 
village and rural schools. The plans and specifications must be 



342 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

approved in advance ; the money given is for complete school plant, 
including desks, blackboards, heaters, etc. ; and the school must be 
the property of the public school authorities. 

l/^ This building program has been carried on under the supervision 
of the Rural School Agent who inspects the buildings before final 
payment of the Rosenwald money is made. Every school — even the 
one-teacher school — has an industrial room. The buildings are cor- 
rectly lighted and ventilated, and the local and Rosenwald funds 
spent on these buildings have produced visible results. Due to the 
superior building and equipment, the teaching in these schools is 
naturally much better than that in the average rural school. The 
industrial work has added a great deal to the school program. 
County superintendents and district directors have made special 
effort to secure capable teachers for these schools. 

The conditions under which aid is given from the Julius Rosen- 
wald Fund are set forth in Ajjpendix C. 

The following figures show the types of buildings, and money 
invested in them, during the year ending June 30, 1922. 



Type 


Number 


Total Cost 


Amount from 


Average 


No. of 


Built 




Rosenwald 


Cost 


Teachers 










1 


4 


$ 7,519 • 


$2,000 


$ 1,880 


2 


6 


24,985 


4,800 


4,194 


3 


1 


12,023 


1,000 


12,023 


4 


3 


33,499 


3,600 


11,166 


6 


2 


47,386 


3,200 


23,693 


Homes 


1 


1,660 


830 


1,660 



On account of the "separate school" organization, and the 
financial limitations imposed by it, very few Rosenwald schools 
have been built, as compared with the number built in some of the 
other States. 

At present five vocational high schools, or county training 
schools, are receiving $1300 a year (1922-23) for industrial equip- 
ment, and $600 for teachers' salaries from the General Education 
Board. The total amount given these schools for salaries, from the 
Slater Fund, is $1,250 in 1922-23. The schools aided are: Lima, 
Seminole County; Lincoln School, Carter County; Red Bird, 
Wagoner County ; Rentiersville, Mcintosh County ; and Richland, in 
McCurtain County. The object of these schools is to give the Negro 
boys and girls some real preparation for the work they will do on 



EDUCATION OF NEGROES 343 

leaving school. All the schools have suitable buildings and com- 
petent teachers. All have high school departments. 

The sum of $1,000 is given by the Jeanes Fund. This is used 
at present to pay $50.00 a month for ten months, on the salaries of 
two industrial supervisors, — one in Wagoner and one in Carter 
County. The money is matched by local appropriation. This 
work has been a great success and has reached so many pupils and 
teachers, that the per capita cost has been very small. These su- 
pervisors, acting as assistants to the county superintendents, visit 
all the Negro schools and teach handicrafts, such as basketry, rug 
making, mat making, simple manual training, plain sewing, and 
elementarj^ cooking. They have also carried on a school improve- 
ment program. 

The good results secured by these workers were very much in 
evidence when the schools of these two counties were inspected. If 
similar Avorkers could be provided for the 15 counties having the 
largest Negro rural population, there would be a great increase in 
the efficiency of the rural Negro schools. This Jeanes Fund work 
originated in the State of Virginia and has been such a success there 
that it is now carried on in 45 counties, many of the supervisors 
being paid altogether from public funds. 

FARM AND HOME DEMONSTRATION WORK 

The colored farm and home demonstration work in Oklahoma 
is under the direction of the Agricultural and Mechanical College 
at Stillwater, as is the similar work for white people. A colored 
agent, who has the rank of a district agent, has direct supervision 
of the county work in the State. This work is carried on in 
co-operation with the Federal Government, under the Smith-Lever 
Act, and the salaries of the county agents and home demonstration 
agents are paid from State and Federal funds. The counties of 
Okfuskee, Lincoln, Okmulgee, and Muskogee have both men and 
women agents. The counties of McCurtain, Seminole, Logan, 
Mcintosh, and Kingfisher have men agents. 

It is expected that funds will be provided by the excise boards 
for travelling expenses. In order for this work to be done properly, 
it is necessary for these agents to go over the counties continually. 
The excise boards in Okfuskee, Muskogee, and Lincoln provide 
$1,000 a year, or $500.00 for each agent. In Seminole and Lincoln 
$600.00 is provided ; while $800.00 is provided in Okmulgee. This 
work is not as liberally supported locally as the work for white 



344 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

people. This valuable work, which is even more needed by the 
Negroes than by the White people, has been handicapped to some 
extent by lack of local support. 

The counties that now have county agents only should have 
home demonstration agents also. The sum of $900.00 should be 
provided for each county agent's travelling expense, and $750.00 
for each home demonstration agent. Practically all the counties 
where the Negro population makes up ten per cent, or more, of the 
total, except Tulsa, where the Negro population is almost wholly 
urban, should secure agents. 

The counties of Oklahoma are large and these agents should 
not be expected to work outside of their counties. On account 
of the small Negro population in some counties, one agent might be 
employed for two counties. For example, farm and home demon- 
stration agents could be employed for Garvin and McClain Counties, 
the excise boards each providing half the necessary travel expense. 

This work is young in Oklahoma and the State authorities 
deserve praise for what has already been done. Satisfactory sal- 
aries are paid these agents and efficient men and women have been 
secured. It is to be hoped that the work will continue to expand, 
and additional State funds should be provided if necessary. No 
money spent for the development of agriculture will yield more real 
results per dollar invested. 

RETARDED PUPILS IN NEGRO SCHOOLS. 

One of the most serious problems in the Negro schools is the 
problem of retardation — pupils being older than they should be, 
for the grades they are in. The common cause of this, of course, 
is the repeating of grades by many pupils. Some pupils do not 
enter school until they are older than they should be. In city schools 
some of the retardation is due to pupils being already "retard- 
ed" or over-age, for their grades, when they enter the school. In 
all the schools, and especially in the rural schools, the chief cause of 
retardation is irregular attendance. Little attention given pupils 
by the teacher, due to the large number of pupils per teacher, in 
some schools, or in some grades, results in pupils taking two years 
to complete a grade. 

Table 57 shows the amount of retardation in 51 Negro schools 
of the State. 



EDUCATION OF NEGROES 



345 



TABLE 57.— AGE-GRADE ENROLLMENT IN 51 NEGRO SCHOOLS- 
OKLAHOMA. 







Per cent of 




Per cent of 




Per cent of 


Total 


Per cent 


Grade 


No. 


Total in grade 


Xo. 


Total in grade 


No. 


Total in grade 


in 


of 






under a^;e 




normal age 




over age 


Grade 


Total 










A. Boys. 










Kdg. 


8 


7.8 


54 


52.4 


41 


39.8 


103 


5.0 


1 


15 


2f.4 


290 


47.2 


310 


50.4 


615 


30.3 


2 


6 


2.2 


84 


31.5 


177 


66.3 


267 


13.2 


3 


17 


6.1 


66 


23.8 


194 


70.1 


277 


13.7 


4 


5 


2.0 


43 


17.0 


205 


81.0 


253 


12.5 


5 


7 


3.3 


42 


19.8 


163 


76.9 


212' 


10.5 


6 


7 


8.1 


20 


23.3 


59 


68.6 


86 


4.2 


7 


5 


4.7 


21 


19.8 


80 


75.5 


106 


5.2 


8 


12 


15.8 


18 


23.7 


46 


60.5 


76 


3.7 


9 





.... 


8 


33.3 


16 


66.7 


24 


1.2 


10 





.... 


1 


16.7 


5 


83.3 


6 


.3 


U 





.... 







1 




1 


.1 


11 








1 


100.0 







1 


.1 


Total 


82 


4.0 


648 


32.0 


1297 


64.0 


2^027 


100.0 










B. Girls. 










Kdg. 


4 


5.6 


37 


51.4 


31 


43.0 


72 


3.4 


1 


18 


3.1 


322 


56.3 


232 


40.6 


572 


27.0 


2 


9 


3.4 


94 


34.9 


166 


6L7 


269 


12.7 


3 


11 


4.2 


91 


34.3 


163 


61.5 


265 


12.5 


4 


11 


4.0 


62 


22.6 


201 


73.4 


274 


12.9 


5 


9 


4.4 


49 


24.0 


146 


71.6 


'204 


9.6 


6 


2 


1.3 


41 


27.0 


109 


71.7 


152 


7.2 


7 


6 


4.4 


30 


22.1 


100 


73.5 


136 


6.4 


8 


6 


5.1 


26 


22.2 


85 


72.7 


117 


5.5 


9 


2 


5.9 


6 


17.6 


26 


76.5 


34 


l.( 


10 


2 


13.3 


9 


60.0 


4 


26.7 ' 


15 


.7 


11 





.... 


3 


37.5 


5 


66.7 


8 


.4 


12 





.... 


1 


33.? 


2 


66.7 


3 


.1 


Total 


80 


3.8 


771 


36.3 


1270 


59.9 


2121 


100.0 








C. 


Boys and i 


Girls. 








Kdg. 


12 


6.9 


91 


52.0 


72 


41.1 


175 


4.2 


1 


33 


2.8 


612 


51.5 


542 


45.7 


1187 


28.6 


2 


15 


2.8 


178 


33.2 


343 


64.0 


536 


13.0 


3 


28 


5.2 


157 


28.9 


357 


65.9 


542 


13.3 


4 


16 


3.0 


105 


20.0 


406 


77.0 


527 


12.5 


5 


16 


3.8 


19 


21.9 


309 


74.3 


416 


10.0 


6 


9 


3.8 


61 


25.6 


168 


70.6 


238 


5.7 


7 


11 


4.5 


51 


21.1 


180 


74.4 


242 


5.8 


8 


18 


9.3 


44 


22.8 


131 


67.9 


193 


4.7 


9 


2 


3.5 


14 


2-4.1 


42 


72.4 


58 


1.4 


10 


2 


9.5 


10 


47.6 


9 


42.9 


21 


0.5 


11 





.... 


3 


33.3 


6 


66.7 


9 


0.2 


12 





.... 


2 


50.0 


2 


50.0 


4 


0.1 


Total 


162 


3.9 


1419 


34.2 


2567 


61.9 


4148 


100.0 



346 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

SOME CAUSES OF INEFFICIENCY IN NEGRO SCHOOLS. 

At present much of the money being spent on Negro schools 
each year is being wasted, because satisfactory results are not be- 
ing secured. Whatever money is spent on Negro schools, whether 
much or litttle, should be spent in such a way as to help the chil- 
dren — really to educate them, and to give them, as far as possible, 
some training for the work they will do on leaving school. The 
children should be given command of the fundamental processes 
first of all. But it will not do for the schools to stop with even 
satisfactory training in reading, spelling, arithmetic, and other pup- 
lie school subjects. A course of study made up entirely of paper- 
work is not suited to the rural Negro schools, or to those in cities 
and towns. It is only reasonable to suppose that a course of study 
better related to the home life, needs, and interests of the pupils 
would cause better attendance, and would result in more children 
staying in school through the eighth grade. 

One of the most conspicuous defects in the rural schools, espec- 
ially in the separate schools, which enroll most of the Negro children, 
is the lack of suitable buildings and equipment. Until this is rem- 
edied, no great improvement can be expected. Most of the schools 
observed were poorly lighted, badly ventilated, and, in many in- 
stances, have practically no equipment. The buildings are so poor 
that they represent practically no investment, and some are rented. 
Churches are used in some instances. The district schools are, as 
a group, much better, but a large per cent of these should be re- 
placed by modern buildings. 

The fact that many Negro tenants move from one part of 
the county to the other, makes it difficult to make permanent lo- 
cations for these schools. It is reasonable to suppose, however, that 
the building of good schools, would to some extent reduce this 
moving. The best class of tenants, white or colored, are interested 
in good schools, and are slow to move from a community where 
there is a good school, to one where the school is poor. There is 
a great need for a building program, carried on with State aid, in 
cooperation with counties and districts, so that eventually the pres- 
ent type of separate school building will be eliminated. 

IRREGULAR ATTENDANCE A CAUSE OF SERIOUS LOSS. 

The poor attendance is an important factor in making the 
schools inefficient. From supposing that the schools are effective, 
so far as those pupils in average attendance is concerned, there 



EDUCATION OF NEGROES 347 

■would be a great loss in inefficiency due to so many pupils being 
out of school part of the time. The causes of this arem any — un- 
attractive, uncomfortable buildings, lack of attention from the teach- 
er, failure of the school work to interest the pupil — these may be 
mentioned, as well as economic causes. 

The school cannot help those pupils who do not attend with suf- 
ficient regularity to make some progress. As a matter of fact, 
these pupils who attend irregularly slow up the school work, and 
make the schools less effective for those who do attend every day. 
It has already been shown that in the independent, or town and city 
schools, the attendance is 65.8 per cent; in the village schools 59.6 
per cent ; and in the rural schools 53.6 per cent. Obviously such con- 
ditions need to be changed. 

The lack of supervision is another thing that makes the Negro 
schools ineffective. A county superintendent cannot, without as- 
sistance, be expected to supervise all the schools — white and colored 
— in a county. The coimties of Oklahoma are too large. The 
supervision of the white schools alone would take all of one super- 
intendent's time, and more, if properly done. City school systems — • 
at least the best ones — have supervisors, and certainly the rural 
schools need such help and direction as a supervisor could give. 
Well trained and experienced women teachers, who have taught 
successfully in rural schools, should be employed for this work. 
This would add greatly to the value of the school work. The money 
spent for this would probably yield greater immediate returns, in 
educational results per dollar, than money spent for anything else, 
at present. 

There is great need for improvement in the teaching of the pri- 
mary grades — the first four grades — where most of the pupils are. 
This is true to the same extent in both rural and urban schools. 

An effective education program will demand more money than 
is now being spent, especially on the schools now operated as sepa- 
rate schools. The cities should not be handicapped in providing 
needed buildings and equipment for Negro schools, as they are 
now. 

GREATER DEVELOPMENT OF VOCATIONAL COURSES 

NEEDED. 

In recognition of the fact that economic pressure will cause 
many pupils in cities, especially boys, to leave school at an early 
age, with no preparation for earning a livelihood, ample provision 



348 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

should be made for part-time schools, continuation schools and even- 
ing schools. In this way many boys who cannot receive trade train- 
ing in school, could receive it while employed, after their school 
days are over. The labor of these boys can be made of much value 
to themselves and to the State, because their labor will be skilled 
and will create more wealth. This will make for industrial efficien- 
cy and will lessen poverty. Under the Smith-Hughes Act, work of 
this kind has already been begun for white people in some of the 
cities. 

The Negro schools have suffered because no State school su- 
pervisor has given his entire time to improving them. The rural 
school agent has been devoting half his time to this work, and has 
secured excellent results. The Negro schools, however, should 
be supervised and directed, in cooperation with county superintend- 
ents, by a State school officer, who gives all his time to that 
work. 

The State school at Langston should be given suitable equip- 
ment and buildings, and should be properly supported by the State. 
Otherwise, many colored students from Oklahoma will be forced 
to go outside the State, as they are now doing, for educational facili- 
ties that should be provided by Oklahoma. 

The facilities for the training of Negro teachers are not adequate. 
There are six State normal schools for white people. Many teach- 
ers are secured by the white schools from the State University and 
from the Agricultural and Mechanical College at Stillwater. There 
are a number of private or denominational colleges that train teach- 
ers for the white schools, — for instance Tulsa University, and Phil- 
lips University. At present, the facilities for training Negro teach- 
ers at the Colored Agricultural and Normal University, at Lang- 
ston, are entirely insufficient. There are, on the average 60 White 
high schools in the State each year that give normal training. There 
are only four Negro high schools that provide such training. The 
school at Langston should be provided with dormitories and teach- 
ing force, such that enough teachers can be trained each year tc 
meet the needs of Oklahoma's Negro public schools. 

RECOMMENDATIONS. 

It is assumed that all recommendations of a general nature in 
other Chapters of this Survey Report will apply to both white and 
colored schools. 



EDUCATION OF NEGROES 349 

(1) The white and colored schools, both city and rural, should 
be supported financially in the same manner. 

(2) A State supervisor of Negro schools should be employed 
to give his full time to the betterment of Negro schools in the State. 
This supervisor should be appointed by the State superintendent 
of public instruction, and should be paid not less than $3,000 per 
year^ and allowed at least $1,200 for travel expense. 

(3) The course of study in Negro schools, both city and rural, 
should be made more practical, and should be more closely related 
to the life and needs of the pupils. 

(4) In those 15 counties having the largest rural Negro popu- 
lations, county industrial supervisors should be appointed to work 
as assistants to the coimty superintendents, in order that the work 
in the Negro rural schools may be of more value to the pupils. The 
work of these supervisors should be similar to that of the Jeanes 
Fund workers in Carter and Wagoner Counties, and in other States. 
A salary of not less than $1,500 should be paid, and the worker em- 
ployed for 12 months. These supervising teachers should be ap- 
pointed by the county superintendents, subject to the approval of 
the State supervisor of Negro schools. In order to induce the 
counties to employ these workers, half the salary should be paid 
by the State. An appropriation of $11,250 will be required for this. 
Well-trained and experienced colored women teachers should be 
secured for this w^ork. 

(5) No more one-teacher schools should be built, or operated, 
than is absolutely necessary. As far as possible, consolidations 
should be effected, so that the children may be taught in schools 
having two or more teachers. 

(6) Where conditions make a one-teacher school necessary, 
the school should have an industrial room as well as a large class- 
room, and should be equipped so that the teacher may have plenty 
of material to work with, 

(7) A State appropritaion should be made to match the Fed- 
eral funds now available for the teaching of vocational agriculture 
under the Smith-Hughes Act. Thus if $5,000 is available, the State 
should set aside an equal amount. Since this money is matched by 
local funds, the total amount then available would be $20,000. 

(8) In order to encourage the teaching of vocational home 
economies, a State appropriation of. $10,000 should be made, to pay 
one-half the salaries of teachers in State approved rural schools'. 
This work should be under the direction of the State supervisor 



350 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

of home economics, and at least 90 minutes per day should be de- 
voted to the work. This amount would be sufficient to provide for 
20 schools, with an average salary of $1,000. 

(9) The State colleges for Negroes, either at Langston or at 
some other location, should be provided wdth dormitories and a 
teaching staff, such that an adequate supply of teachers for Okla- 
homa's schools, may be trained in the State. 

(10) In addition to providing for a supply of teachers, a col- 
lege department should be developed at the State college — now 
the Colored Normal and Agricultural University, in order that 
those students who expect to engage in other professions may re- 
ceive college training without having to leave the State. 

(11) A policy of State aid in the building of rural schools 
should be inaugurated, and an initial appropriation of $25,000 
should be made for the first year. Aid should be given on the same 
conditions under which aid from the Rosenwald Fund is secured. 
This would insure proper use of the State money, and would insure 
the proper design and construction of rural schools. 

(12) Provision should be made for giving additional training, 
especially along vocational lines, to those boys and girls who are 
forced to leave school before completing the high school course. 
By means of evening schools in cities, for example, many of these 
boys and girls can be reached. 

(13) The high school course in a city school should include 
at least one vocational course, designed to prepare students for 
some definite occupation open to them in the city. 

(14) An effort should be made to make the w^ork in primary 
grades more effective, especially in city and town schools. This 
can be done by securing better primary teachers, by employing more 
teachers, so that there will be fewer pupils per teacher in the first 
four grades, and through supervision by the superintendent or a 
primary supervisor. 

(15) In order that at least one vocational high school may be 
developed in each of the 15 counties having the largest Negro rural 
population, it is recommended that the State aid one school in each 
county to the extent of $1,000 per year. The schools aided should 
be recommended by county superintendents, and approved by the 
State department of public instruction, as to location, building, lo- 
cal support, equipment, and teaching force. A State appropriation 
of $15,000 would be necessary for this. Every school should be in- 
spected and approved, or disapproved, each year, in order that 
proper standards may be maintained. 



CHAPTER XI. 
EDUCATIONAL TESTS AND MEASUREMENTS. 

During the months of April and May a comprehensive series of 
tests "was given to selected groups of children, in all types of public 
schools, in all sections of the State, by a group of Oklahoma educa- 
tors, under the direction of the United States Bureau of Education. 
The committee was organized by Dean W. W. Phelan, College of 
Education, University of Oklahoma, who served as chairman until 
his departure from the State. He was then succeeded by Henry D. 
Rinsland, director of educational research, public schools of Ard- 
more. 

Table 58 shows the number of pupils tested, and the counties 
and cities in which the tests were given. 

TABLE 58.— NUMBER OF PUPILS TESTED, AND CITIES AND 

COUNTIES REPRESENTED. 

County City Number of Pupils 

Adair 583 

Carter Ardmore 2,324 

Choctaw 751 

Craig Vinita _ 926 

Creek Drumright 1,176 

Custer Clinton 604 

Ellis 856 

Garfield 3,243 

Jackson 5,967 

Kay Ponca City 1,299 

Love Marietta 393 

Oklahoma Luther 206 

Okmulgee Okmulgee 2,250 

Pittsburg 827 

McAlester 280 

Hartshorne 509 

Haileyville 461 



Total 2,077 

351 



352 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



Pottawatomie 1,806 

Tulsa Glenpool 359 

Washington 1034 

Dewey 633 



Total 1,667 

TOTAL 26,487 

Indian Schools 358 

TOTAL 26,845 

A summary of the scores made by pupils is given in Table 59. 

TABLE 59 

SUMMARY OF SCORES MADE IN TESTS IN OKLAHOMA EDUCATIONAL 

SURVEY. 



A condensed summary of scores made by pupils in educational and 
psychological tests, April and May, 1922. Tests given and results tabulated 
by a committee of Oklahoma educators, under the direction of Dr. W. W. 
Phelan, Chairman. 

Abbreviations 

Figures at head of vertical columns indicate Grades. 

Med — median score made by group reported. 

No — number of pupils tested. 

Att — number of examples attempted (Courtis Arithmetic). 

Pc — per cent of correct answers (Courtis Arithmetic). 

Spelling 



Ashbaugh Spelling Scale: Median 


scores. 


percentage. 










3 




4 




5 




6 


7 




Schools 


Med 


No 


Med 


No 


Med 


No 


Med 


No 


Med 


No 


Rural 


80.0 


627 


72.1 


691 


63.8 


580 


62.3 


522 


55.0 


413 


Consolidated 


83.8 


469 


76.0 


468 


62.3 


451 


64.9 


457 


51.1 


402 


Towns 


79.8 


477 


75.5 


421 


65.3 


388 


63.7 


375 


72.8 


375 


Cities 


86.0 


1,474 


80.3 


1,357 


72.5 


1,253 


69.2 


1,154 


67.5 


1,021 


State 




3,047 




2,937 




2,772 




2,508 




2,211 


Standard 


73.0 




73.0 




73.0 




73.0 




73.0 








8 




9 




10 


11 


12 




Schools 


Med 


No 


Med 


No 


Med 


No 


Med 


No 


Med 


No 


Rural 


55.1 


488 


60.0 


50 


62.0 


22 


86.0 


16 


88.0 


6 


Consolidated 


57.8 


380 


66.0 


126 


73.0 


70 


81.5 


57 


84.0 


31 


Towns 


59.0 


327 


65.3 


202 


71.2 


165 


77.0 


144 


80.4 


99 


Cities 


60.6 


1,057 


71.7 


883 


79.2 


673 


87.0 


467 


90.1 


290 


State 




2,252 




1,261 




930 




684 





426 


Standard 


73.0 





















EDUCATIONAL, TESTS AND MEASUREMENTS 



353 



> 
be 



02 



«> 



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• i-H 

?! 

o 
o 






O 

o 

c3 

o 






O 




> 

Eh 
CZ2 
H 
en 

o 

Eh 
O 

o 
w 

o 

I— I 

m 

I— I 

O 



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(M 



I I 



S. S, 12 



354 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



Reading 

Haggerty Reading Test, Sigma I: Median scores, by grades. 
12 3 

Schools Med No Med No Med No 

Rural 4.3 174 7.6 206 24.0 52 

Consolidated 5.9 240 12.8 206 

Towns 7.6 195 12.6 225 

Cities 9.1 1,047 17.9 866 28.6 258 

State 9.0 1,656 15.0 1,503 28.6 310 

Standard 4.0 12.0 16.0 

Thorndike-McCall Reading Test: Ability of pupils by "Reading 
Ages" in months, by Grades, Median scores. 

3 4 5 6 7 

Schools Med No Med No Med No Med No Med No 

Rural 30.9 333 38.2 645 43.8 520 47.6 455 51.3 369 

Consolidated 34.5 350 39.1 355 43.7 374 47.0 346 50.8 337 

Towns 35.0 471 39.4 434 44.0 376 47.2 356 51.7 554 

Cities 36.1 1,224 42.0 1,123 47.2 1,042 50.8 1,119 54.6 944 

State 2,378 2,557 2,312 2,276 2,204 

Standard 34.9 39.8 46.1 56.2 54.6 

8 9 10 11 12 

Schools Med No Med No Med No Med No Med No 

Rural 53.5 467 53.0 50 59.0 12 63.0 14 63.0 6 

Consolidated 52.3 324 58.5 131 60.4 74 60.5 53 61.5 52 

Towns 53.8 308 57.4 202 59.5 152 60.0 128 61.7 82 

Cities 56.5 981 59.6 917 61.6 687 63.5 448 67.5 320 

State 2,080 1,300 925 643 460 

Standard 57.7 61.8 63.2 64.9 67.4 



HandwrH 


:ing 






















Ayres Handwriting Scale: Median scores in 


. Rate (R), and Quality (Q), 












by Grades. 




















3 






4 






5 




Schools 






R 


Q 


No 


R 


Q 


No 


R 


Q 


No 


Rural 






47.5 


28.8 


393 


54.0 


33.9 


385 


71.3 


39.3 


449 


Consolidated 




45.7 


31.1 


292 


51.3 


34.4 


335 


63.4 


22.1 


373 


Towns 






34.1 


26.4 


274 


49.7 


34.9 


262 


64.0 


36.1 


291 


Cities 






51.1 


33.5 


1,032 


58.7 


37.1 ] 


L,081 


65.5 


43.5 


1,118 


State 










1,991 




2,063 






2,227 


Standard 






43.0 


40.0 




50,0 


45.0 




59.0 


50.0 




(56 Cities) 


























6 






7 




8 






9 




Schools 


R 


Q 


No 


R 


Q 


No 


R Q 


No 


> R 


Q 


No 


Rural 


68.6 


33.4 


453 


74.9 


43.0 


374 78.6 47.0 


432 


100.0 


62.0 


31 


Consol. 


80.2 


39.5 


402 


75.2 


42.6 


430 83.9 45.4 


358 


86.9 


51.5 


43 


Towns 


75.6 


39.0 


386 


80.0 


46.6 


296 83.8 49.1 


254 


71.9 


41.2 


65 


Cities 


76.1 


46.1 


1,119 


90.3 


70.0 


624 87.5 61.8 


773 


78.1 


56.1 


310 


State 






2,360 




1,724 .. 


.... 


1,817 






449 


St'd'd. 


63.0 


56.0 




68.0 


62.0 . 


73.0 66.0 


















10 






11 






12 




Schools 






R 


Q 


No 


R 


Q 


No 


R 


Q 


No 


Rural 






105.0 


70.0 


12 


22.5 


62.5 


7 


70.0 


55.0 


2 


Consolidated 




105.0 


48.6 


26 


100.0 


52.5 


19 : 


107.5 


55.0 


14 


Towns 






73.6 


60.0 


30 


74.6 


55.0 


29 


80.0 


60.0 


16 


Cities 






90.00 


54.7 


227 


93.7 


51.0 


212 : 


107.7 


62.0 


149 


State 










295 






267 






181 


Standard 










•••••••• 















EDUCATIONAL TESTS AND MEASUREMENTS 355 

English Composition 



Hud« 


2lson 


Composition 


Test: 


Median scores, by 


Grades. 








3 




4 




5 




6 


7 




Scliools 


Med 


No 


Med 


No 


Med 


No 


Med 


No 


Med 


No 


Rural 


2.3 


195 


2.7 


613 


3.3 


558 


4.1 


408 


4.0 


404 


Consolidated 


2.1 


377 


2.6 


452 


2.9 


498 


2.9 


474 


3.9 


407 


Towns 


2.2 


290 


2.6 


349 


3.0 


353 


3.8 


331 


4.2 


335 


Cities 


2.3 


581 


2.8 


1,096 


3.5 


921 


4.4 


959 


4.6 


943 


State 




1,443 




2,510 




2,330 




2,172 




2,089 


Stanciai-d 






3.5 




4.0 




4.5 




5.0 








8 




9 




10 


11 


12 




Schools 


Med 


No 


Med 


No 


Med 


No 


Med 


No 


Med 


No 


Rural 


4.5 


525 


5.3 


82 


5.7 


19 


5.0 


15 


C.3 


6 


Consolidated 


4.0 


405 


5.0 


289 


5.6 


152 


6.3 


114 


6.7 


67 


Towns 


4.9 


289 


5.3 


297 


5.9 


233 


5.9 


189 


6.6 


113 


Cities 


5.3 


975 


5.8 


727 


6.1 


551 


6.4 


409 


6.8 


252 


State 




2,194 




1,395 




955 




727 




428 


Standard 


5.5 




6.0 




6.5 




6.9 




7.2 




Arithmetic— ADDITION 


















Courtis Standard 


Arithmetic Test, S 


eries B: Median scores in 


number 


of examples attempted, and : 


per cent of correct answers 












i 






4 






5 




Schools 




Att 


Pc 


No 


Att 


Pc 


No 


Att 


Pc 


No 


Rural 




3.9 


28.0 


111 


5.4 


36.1 


704 


5.9 


37.4 


591 


Consolidated 




4.0 


30.0 


402 


5.0 


34.3 


465 


5.4 


38.9 


484 


Towns 




4.3 


30.0 


234 


5.1 


39.2 


438 


5.9 


42.3 


374 


Cities 




4.1 


36.7 


666 


5.4 


40.0 


1,023 


6.3 


51.5, 


919 


State 








1,413 






2,630 






2,368 


Standard 




4.0 


100.0 
6 




6.0 


100.0 

7 




8.0 


100.0 
8 




Schools 




Att 


Pc 


No 


Att 


Pc 


No 


Att 


Pc 


No 


Rural 




6.6 


51.1 


506 


7.2 


47.7 


471 


8.4 


58.3 


489 


Consolidated 




6.8 


48.1 


465 


8.5 


56.1 


323 


7.9 


51.0 


382 


Towns 




7.8 


50.1 


304 


7.6 


49.5 


362 


8.4 


55.5 


323 


Cities 




6.8 


55.0 


793 


7.8 


55.0 


789 


8.5 


61.9 


830 


State 








2,068 






1,945 






2,024 


Standard 




10.0 


100.0 




11.0 


100.0 




12.0 


100.0 




Arithmetic— DIVISION 
























3 






4 






5 




Schools 




Att 


Pc 


No 


Att 


Pc 


No 


Att 


Pc 


No 


Rural 




0.8 


25.3 


99 


2.7 


25.1 


688 


3.6 


38.0 


570 


Consolidated 










3.1 


32.5 


522 


3.6 


38.4 


485 


Towns 










3.2 


33.2 


409 


4.0 


41.6 


343 


Cities 




0.8 


26.2 


488 


3.1 


31.7 


829 


4.1 


50.0 


886 


State 








587 






2,448 







2,324 


Standard 






6 




4.0 


100.0 

7 




6.0 


100.0 
8 




Schools 




Att 


Pc 


No 


Att 


Pc 


No 


Att 


Pc 


No 


Rural 




4.7 


51.8 


527 


5.7 


51.7 


446 


8.2 


74.3 


499 


Consolidated 




4.2 


50.0 


409 


5.1 


57.0 


423 


7.4 


70.8 


384 


Towns 




5.1 


57.1 


335 


5.9 


60.0 


367 


8.4 


76.7 


284 


Cities 




6.7 


75.3 


954 


6.7 


77.2 


747 


8.0 


80.5 


866 


State 








2,225 






1,983 






2,033 


Standard 




8.0 


100.0 




10.0 


100.0 




11.0 


100.0 





356 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



Algebra 



Hotz Alegbra Test, Series A: Addition and subtraction. 



10 



11 



12 



Schools 


Med 


No 


Med 


No 


Med 


No 


Med 


No 


Rural 


4.1 


91 


4.0 


25 










Consolidated 


4.0 


290 


4.3 


142 


4.3 


73 


3.0 


28 


Towns 


4.2 


449 


4.5 


145 


6.3 


41 


7.3 


49 


Cities 


4.6 


617 


4.5 


111 


4.4 


40 


4.9 


31 


State 


4.6 


1,447 


4.4 


423 


4.7 


154 


5.3 


108 


Standard 


5.0 




6.8 




6.8 




7.9 





(3 Months) (6 months) 6 months) (9 months) 
Hotz Algebra Test, Series A: Equation and formula. 



10 



11 



12 



Schools 


Med 


No 


Med 


No 


Med 


No 


Med 


No 


Rural 


5.5 


89 


6.3 


25 










Consolidated 


5.1 


306 


5.3 


148 


5.7 


73 


4.3 


27 


Towns 


5.8 


437 


5.6 


205 


8.0 


49 


5.6 


48 


Cities 


6.1 


567 


6.4 


112 


5.0 


39 


6.0 


32 


S'tate 


5.8 


1,399 


5.6 


490 


5.8 


161 


5.3 


107 


Standard 


4.9 




7.1 




7.1 




7.8 






(3 Months) (6 months) 6 months) 


(9 months 


Mentality 


















Haggerty Intelligence Test 


Delta 


I: Median 


scores 






1 


r 




3 








Schools 


Med 


No 


Med 


No 


Med 


No 






Rural 


27.7 


278 


49.5 


390 


56.8 


144 






Consolidated 


33.7 


480 


41.3 


438 


72.2 


18 






Towns 


33.0 


320 


41.4 


396 


51.8 


88 






Cities 


35.2' 


845 


55.0 


989 


74.1 


626 






State 


33.6 


1,923 


48.2 


2,213 


72.8 


876 






S'tandard 


35.0 




55.0 




70.0 








Mentality 


















Haggerty Intelligence 


Test, 


Delta 


H: Median 


scores. 






3 




4 




5 




6 


Schools 


Med 


No 


Med 


No 


Med 


No 


Med 


No 


Rural 


30.0 


45 


44.0 


206 


65.7 


209 


74.8 


155 


Consolidated 


33.0 


451 


47.2 


417 


65.6 


366 


75.4 


399 


Towns 


46.2' 


344 


51.1 


397 


65.8 


346 


79.5 


385 


Cities 


43.2 


385 


60.1 


1,047 


78.2 


904 


91.5 


827 


State 


36.5 


1,225 


54.5 


2,067 


65.8 


1.825 


83.9 


1,766 


Standard 


40.0 


7 


60.0 


8 


78.0 


9 


96.0 




Schools 


Med 


No 


Med 


No 


Med 


No 


Med 


No 


Rural 


90.0 


185 


102.9 


179 


106.0 


30 






Consolidated 


S7.4 


300 


98.2 


327 


114.0 


23 






Towns 


93.1 


354 


104.2 


329 


116.0 


111 






Cities 


95.5 


774 


110.5 


757 


118.4 


391 






State 


91.8 


1,613 


108.2 


1,592 


117.0 


555 






Standard 


110.0 




120.0 




130.0 









Figures 21, 22, and 23 presents the scores in reading and spell- 
ing to illustrate the comparisons between scores in Oklahoma and 
in other states. 



EDUCATIONAL TESTS AND MEASUREMENTS 



357 



SnmtARY OP UEDIAH SCORES MADE O SPBLLIBG T3ST 
OKIAHOMA SCHOOLS, HAT- JUKE, 19££ 



Sd Qrade 


Pupils 


Score 


STAflBAHD 

Rural 

Consolldatfll 

Towns 

Cities 


1 


627 

469 

477 

.474 


73.0 
80.0 
88.6 
79.8 
8S.0 


4th Crade 








STAHDART) 
BOIBl 

Consoliaatad 

TownG 

Cltlee 


1 


69i 
468 

4ei 

,867 


73.0 
78. 1 
76.0 
76.6 
80. S 


6th 9rade 








STAmABS 

Bural 

Consolidated 

Towns 

Cities 


1 


• • • 

660 

451 

886 

.863 


13.0 
68.8 
62.8 
65.8 
78.6 


6th Grade 








3TAHDAED 

Rural 

Consolidated 

Tome 

Cities 


1 


• • • 

ess 

457 

876 

,154 


78.0 
62.8 
64.9 
68.7 
69.2 


7th Grade 








stahdart) 

Rural 

Consolidated 
Tovwe 
Cities 


1 


iii 

402 
875 
,081 


78.0 
66.0 
51.1 
72.8 
67.6 



Figure 21. 



SDIOIARY OP MEDIAfl SCORES MADE IB SPELLIIIG TEST 
OiaAHOUA SCHOOLS, MAY- JUKE. 1922. 



8th Grade 


PnpllB 


Soore 


STAHDARD 


• • • 


73.0- 


Rural 


488 


55,1- 


Consolidated 


380 


57.8- 


Towns 


327 


59.0- 


Cities 


1,057 


60.6- 


9th Grade 






STASDiRD 


• • • 


73.0- 


Rural 


50 


60.0- 


Consolidated 


126 


66.0 


Towns 


202 


65.3 


Cities 


883 


71.7 



(Words used In Grades 10,11,18, same as 9th Grade; Standard, 73 for 9th Grade) 
10th Grade 



Rural 22 62.0- < 

Consolidated 70 73.0- . 

Towns 165 71. 2- i 

Cities 673 79.2-. 

11th Grade 

Rural 16 86.0- . 

Consolidated 57 8I.B-1 

Towns 144 77.0-1 

Cities 467 87.0- . 



12th Grade 

Rural 

Consolidated 
Towns 
Cities 



6 88.0- 

31 84,0- 

99 80.4 

290 90.1 



Figure 22. 



358 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 



SUMiiAB/ OP ItKIiIAD SCOBES IB READIHG TEST: HAGCEBTT, 3.1. 
OKJ.AHOUA SCHOOLS, lUT-JTHJE. 1922. 



let Grafle Pnplle Soore 



STAHBARD 

Rural 

Consolidated 

TownB 

Cities 

State 



2nd Grade 

STAHBAED 

Enrsl 

CoDdolldated 

Towns 

Cities 

State 

grd Grade 

STAHDARD 

Rural 

Consolidated 

Towns 

Cities 

State 



174 

240 

195 

1.047 

1,656 



206 
205 
225 
866 
1,503 



68 



266 
310 



4.0 
4.3 
5,9 
7.6 
9.1 
9,0 



12.0 
7,6 
12,8 
12,6 
17.9 
15.0 



16.0 
24.0 



28.6 
28.6 



Figure 23. 

• 

Additional data and comparisons were prepared and submitted 
by the committee in charge of the tests, all of which were care- 
fully considered by the Survey Staff. The figures are omitted from 
this report for reasons of economy in printing. All of the data, 
however, including the original papers written by the children, are 
in the possession of the committee, and it is recommended that the 
committee be requested to prepare a special report on the results 
of the tests for distribution throughout the State. 



CHAPTER XII. 

SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 

For the convenience of the reader the more important conclu- 
sions and recommendations are brought together in condensed form. 

RESUME OF EDUCATIONAL CONDITIONS. 

Of 77 county superintendents reporting eight receive an annual 
salary between $1200 and $1500; 32 receive between $1500 and 
$1800; 31 between $1800 and $2300 and six receive $3000. The 
median annual salary is about $1650; the average term of service 
of county superintendents now in office is 3.7 years. Approximately 
50 per cent of the county superintendents are changed at each bi- 
ennial election. 

Reports from 4567 teachers in rural schools representing 49 
counties of the 77 counties show median annual salaries as follows: 
in one-teacher schools between $800 and $900 ; in two-teacher, con- 
solidated and small village schools between $900 and $1000 ; in three- 
teacher schools between $1200 and $1300. In the same counties 650 
rural school principals reported salaries as follows: of elementary 
schools $1200 to $1300; in high schools $1100 to $1200; in schools 
having both elementary and high school grades $1300 to $1400 
per year. 

The most serious condition so far as salaries of rural teachers 
are concerned is not in average or median salaries but in the wide 
variation found among teachers in different districts and in differ- 
ent counties. Data collected from several different counties show 
that minimum salaries range from $180 to $450 in the poor districts 
while the maximum in rich districts of the same counties is from 
$1000 to $1650 for white teachers. The same counties pay colored 
teachers a minimum annual salary from $100 to $380 and a maximum 
varying from $800 to $1000. 

Training of teachers: Of 4751 white teachers reporting for 
places of over 200 population, 300 have had less than an eight year 
elementary school training; 1729 have had less than four years in 
high school training; 2982 have had no normal training; 3022 are 
graduates of four year high schools. 484 have had as much as one 

359 



360 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

year in normal school based on high school graduation; 402 have 
had two years in normal school based on graduation from high 
school; 105 have had three or four years in normal based on high 
school graduation, 237 have had as much as one year in normal not 
based on high school graduation ; 187 have had two years, 354 have 
had three or four years of normal not based on high school gradu- 
ation. 2,952 have had no college training, 934 have had one or 
twq years in college; 865 have had three or four years in college. 
353 have attended a summer school of one to six weeks duration; 
972 have attended 7 to 12 weeks ; 1176 have attended summer schools 
for over 12 weeks. 

In places under 200 : Of 1910 teachers reporting school training, 
122 have had less than an eight year elementary school training; 
1015 have had less than four years in high school ; 1445 have had 
no normal training. Based on high school graduation, 15 have had 
as much as one year in normal school; 29 have had two years; 17 
have had three or four years. Not based on high school graduation, 
172 have had as much as one year in a normal school ; 63 two years, 
97 three or four years. 1,678 have had no college training; 176 have 
had one or two years in college ; 56 have had three or four years in 
college. 103 have attended summer school for from one to six 
weeks; 478 have attended seven to 12 weeks; 389 have attended 
over 12 weeks. 

Negro teachers: Of 199 reporting, three have had less than an 
eight year elementary school training; 84 have had less than four 
years in high school; 93 have had no normal training. Based on 
four year high school graduation, 15 have had as much as one year 
in normal; 29 have had two years and 17 have had three or four 
years. Not based on high school graduation four have had one 
year in normal; eight have had two years; 33 have had three or 
four years. 114 have had no college training ; 27 have had one to 
two years; 58 have had three or four years in college. 18 have 
attended summer school from one to six weeks ; 26 have attended 
seven to 12 weeks; 57 have attended over 12 weeks. 

Tenure : Of 4735 white teachers reporting for places over 200, 
1522 began teaching outside Oklahoma and 1526 began in Oklahoma 
but outside the county where now employed. 139 have taught in 
the school where now employed less than one year ; 2188 have taught 
in the school one year; 1042 have taught two years; 462 have taught 
three years and 904 have taught over three years. 35 teachers have 



SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 361 

taught a total of less than one year in and outside of Oklahoma; 
543 have taught a total of one year ; 542 have taught a total of two 
years; 520 have taught three years; 3095 have taught more than 
three years. 

For places under 200: Of 1922 reporting, 316 began teaching 
outside of Oklahoma and 313 began in Oklahoma but outside the 
county where now employed; 63 have taught in the school where 
noAv employed less than one year; 1,313 have taught one year, 353 
have taught two years; 79 have taught three years and 114 have 
taught over three years. 32 teachers have taught a total of less 
than one year in and outside of Oklahoma; 483 have taught one 
year; 337 have taught two years; 198 have taught three years and 
872 have taught over three years. 

Of 200 Negroes reporting: 68 began teaching outside of Okla- 
homa and 82 began in Oklahoma but outside the county where now 
employed. Three have taught in the school where now employed 
less than one year; 73 have taught one year; 47 have taught two 
years; 98 have taught three years and 59 have taught over three 
years. One teacher has taught a total, in and outside Oklahoma 
of less than one year ; 8 have taught one year ; 12 have taught two 
years; 15 have taught three years and 164 have taught over three 
years. 

Occupation groups from which teachers come : For places over 
200, of 4745 teachers reporting the father's occupation, 576 were 
from professions ; 1682 from farm homes ; 1064 were from commer- 
cial pursuits and 389 were from trades and labor groups. 

For places under 200, of 1927 reporting, 163 were from pro- 
fessions, 1294 were from farm homes, 141 from commercial pursuits, 
and 117 from trades and labor groups. Of 201 Negro teachers re- 
porting, 21 were from professional groups; 66 from farm homes; 
11 from commercial pursuits and 47 from trades and labor groups. 

Data collected from the whole State by the State superinten- 
dent of education show that 45 of every 100 children enrolled in 
rural ungraded schools are absent each school day and 41 of every 
100 enrolled in consolidated schools are absent daily. 

Twenty-one (21) per cent of all schools urban and city have a 
school term six months or shorter in length; 16 per cent of the 
schools under the direction of county superintendents in 49 counties 
have a "split" or divided term. Even shorter terms are often 
divided into two sessions. 



362 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

School buildings which are unfit or in which conditions are in- 
sanitary are not rare. Reports on approximately 4,000 rural school 
buildings show that less than one-third, (33%) of the rural schools 
have sanitary drinking water arrangements ; 40 per cent have cloak- 
rooms; only 9^ per cent have two sanitary toilets; about 14 per 
cent have windows properly placed so as to afford good lighting. 

Rural schools are inadequately equipped as to instruction ma- 
terial; only 48 per cent have as many as 25 books suitable for sup- 
plementary reading; 56 per cent have a map of the United States; 
62 per cent blackboards in good condition and 28 per cent are 
equipped with single patent desks. 

Enrollment and seating capacity: In places over 200 reporting 
a total of 129,335 seating capacity and a total enrollment of 124,- 
993 ; 2,123 places reported a seating capacity equal to or greater 
than the enrollment; 971 places reported an enrollment greater 
than the number of seats. For places under 200 reporting a total 
seating capacity of 57,530 and an enrollment equal to or less than 
seating capacity and 772 places reported an enrollment greater than 
seating capacity. 

Of Negro schools reporting a total seating capacity of 11,175 
and a total enrollment of 10,125; 93 reported an enrollment equal 
to or greater than seating capacity and 88 reported an enrollment 
exceeding the seating capacity. 

Pupils per teacher : Of all places reporting for places over 200 
population 752 reported 30 or less pupils per teacher ; 1,203 reported 
31 to 40 pupils per teacher and 1,180 reported over 40 pupils per 
teacher. For places under 200, 1,007 places reported 30 or less pu- 
pils per teacher; 241 places reported 31 to 40 pupils per teacher 
and 413 places reported over 40 pupils per teacher. Of Negro 
schools reporting, 53 reported 30 or less pupils per teacher, 28 re- 
ported 31 to 40 pupils per teacher, and 98 reported more than 40 
pupils per teacher. 

Age-Grade enrollment: 17,598 or 12.1 per cent of all white 
students in places over 200 are young for the grade in which they 
are enrolled ; 84,716 or 58 per cent are the proper age for the grade 
in which they are enrolled; 43,624 or 29.9 per cent are over-age 
for the grade in which they are enrolled; 4,383 or 8 per cent of all 
white students, in places under 200 are young for the grade in 
which they are enrolled ; 24,952 or 45.4 per cent are the proper age 
for the grade in which they are enrolled; 25,584 or 46.6 per cent 
are over-age for the grade in which they are enrolled. 



SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 363 

Of negro children 162 or 3.9 per cent are young for the grade 
in which they are enrolled ; 1,419 or 34.2 per cent are the proper age 
for the grade in which they are enrolled, and 2,567 or 61.9 per cent 
are over-age for the grade in which enrolled. 

In order to bring about approximate equality of educational 
opportunity as between independent districts and rural districts 
in the State, Oklahoma must immediately multiply the percentage 
of the rural population in high schools, by four. The percentage 
of high school teachers working in rural districts must be multiplied 
by three. The money per capita being spent for buildings and 
grounds in villages must be multiplied by 2^/^, in consolidated dis- 
tricts by 4, in union graded districts by 2i/2 and in rural ungraded 
districts by 5. The percentage of the enumeration in attendance must 
be raised 7 per cent in village districts, 10 per cent in consolidated 
districts, 12 per cent in union graded districts and 21 per cent in 
rural dstricts. The percentage of teachers holding first grade cer- 
tificates must be increased 34 per cent in village districts, 42.9 per 
cent in consolidated districts, 52.5 per cent in union graded dis- 
tricts and 74.4 per cent in ungraded rural districts. Salaries of 
teachers in village districts must be increased by approximately 
15 per cent, 30 per cent in consolidated districts, 50 in union graded 
districts, and 64 per cent in rural districts. The school term in 
rural districts must be lengthened two months. Finally, such a 
ratio of adequately trained supervisors to teachers in rural districts 
must be provided that supervision is as intimate, as personal, and 
as regular as in independent districts. 

In order to remedy school conditions in Oklahoma it is essen- 
tial to provide a State agency for the promotion of education which 
shall be clothed with much more real power and influence than the 
State department has enjoyed in the past. 

The States higher institutions including those which were or- 
ganized especially for preparing teachers have not had an adequate 
supply of strong high school graduates to draw from; the elemen- 
tary and secondary schools have suffered sorely because of the lack 
of equally prepared teachers; every part of the educational system 
except in the few large cities and wealthy districts has languished 
for lack of adequate financial support and because there has been 
no adequate leadership and no one body or organization to do what 
a properly constituted State board of education should be organized 
and authorized to do, namely, consider the educational system of 



364 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

the State as a whole and promote the interests of all parts of the 
system in relation to the whole. 

SCHOOL REVENUES, FINANCE, AND GENERAL ADMINIS- 
TRATION. 

Abolish the present antiquated, unfair methods of apportion- 
ing State school moneys, and adopt modernized scientific methods 
which will recognize variations among the local school units, as 
to length of school year, assessed valuation per child in average 
daily attendance, local tax rate, aggregate days of attendance, num- 
ber and qualifications of school officers and teachers employed. 

Abolish present plan of school district organization. 

Establish the county as the local school unit. 

Remove all limitations on State and local taxation. 

Establish eight months, 160 days, as the minimum school term, 
beginning in 1924-25, and nine months thereafter. 

Require a minimum county school tax of not less than ten 
mills, the proceeds to be distributed among the schools of the 
county on a per-teacher basis, and in such a manner as to recognize 
the principles set forth in Recommendation 1, in so far as these prin- 
ciples have application within the county. 

Extend to counties taxing and bonding powers for school pur- 
poses. The plan here proposed of abolishing school ditsricts and 
of establishing the county as the local unit of support will equalize 
local rates of taxation within the counties. 

Provide a State equalization fund to be apportioned among 
those counties which levy a county school tax of 15 mills or more 
but are unable to produce therebj^ for every child of school age 
resident in the county a quota equal to the State average county 
quota per child derived from proceeds of such county taxes. 

STANDARDS TO BE SET BY THE STATE. 

Empower and require the State Department of Education to 
fix and to modify from time to time, as conditions seem to war- 
rant, the requirements and standards which counties must meet in 
order to receive quotas of State moneys. 

Require county and all other school boards to prepare annual- 
ly a budget of estimated school costs for the next succeeding year, 
such budget to be submitted to the proper authorities and used as 
a basis for levj-ing taxes. 



SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 365 

Require the counties to formulate and provide for the carrying 
out of a county building program, to provide new buildings and other 
new school property. 

Abolish the office of county superintendent as an elective office, 
and place the appointment and fixing of the salary of the county 
superintendent in the hands of the County Board of Education, 
subject only to the limits as to professional qualifications and min- 
imum salary fixed by the State Board of Education. 

Establish an amount not less than that paid to city superin- 
tendents in first class city systems as the minimum salary of county 
superintendents. The office of county superintendent should be 
thoroughly professionalized. Nowhere is skilled supervision more 
important than in rural communities, owing to the large numbers 
of untrained and inexperienced teachers to be found in such 
communities. Specific and high professional qualifications should 
be prerequisites for eligibility to the office. 

Provide for every county supervisors or teacher-helpers of 
qualifications sufficient to entitle said supervisor to a salary not 
less tJian that paid to expert supervisors employed in first class 
city school systems, appointment to be made by county boards 
of education on nomination of the county superintendent upon the 
basis of qualifications fixed by the State Board of Education. 

Provide for a State graduated income tax upon the proceeds 
of which public schools and other educational institutions shall have 
first claim. 

Create a State special commission on taxation. Such a com- 
mission is needed at the present time in Oklahoma to make a 
thorough study of her system of assessing property and levying 
and collecting taxes. The State Board of Equalization insists 
that property is now assessed at its fair cash value. Members 
of the survey staff frequently heard it stated by individual citizens 
that property is assessed at not more than one-third its true value, 
and striking examples supporting these statements were given. 

A STATE EDUCATIONAL BUDGET COMMISSION. 

Create a State interim legislative educational budget commis- 
sion, which shall prepare and recommend to the next legislature 
an educational budget. 

Provide for the rasing b}^ State taxation of funds sufficient 
to finance all educational projects, positions, and institutions sub- 
sidized by the State. 



366 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

Provide for the State Department of Education funds suffi- 
cient to enable it to dispense entirely \yith aid from private founda- 
tions. 

Place the appointment and the fixing of the salary of the 
State Superintendent of Public Instruction in the hands of the State 
Board of Education. 

Provide a salary fund for the State Department of Education 
sufficient to enable the State Board of Education to employ a State 
Superintendent capable of commanding from $7,000 to $10,000, 
and to pay other members of the staff proportionately, in each case 
the salary to be determined on the basis of professional qualifi- 
cations. 

Establish and provide for the maintenance of a Division of 
School Buildings within the State Department of Education. 

Provide for State continuing appropriations sufficient to match 
federal, private, and all other subventions the receipt of which re- 
quires moneys provided from within the State. 

Abolish 6 to 21 years as the scholastic age, and establish in its 
stead as the scholastic age, 5 to 18 years. 

Provide that State tax rates for educational projects shall be 
determined biennially on the basis of the amount of money requir- 
ed, in addition to that available from the endowment fund and all 
other continuing sources, to provide adequate funds for all edu- 
cational projects to be subsidized by the State. 

Provide State funds to grant special additional aid to encourage 
consolidation, transportation, free textbooks, and employment of 
teachers, superintendents, and other school officers of qualifications 
higher than the lawful minimum, and to subsidize new and progres- 
sive types of educational effort. 

PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS FOR EDUCATIONAL 

SERVICE. 

Empower and require the State Board of Education to establish 
and modify from time to time, as conditions warrant, a scale of edu- 
cational and professional requirements for all positions to be sub- 
sidized entirely or in part by the State, and a corresponding salary 
scale in which salaries paid shall vary according to the professional 
preparation, experience, and class of certificate of the incumbent. 

Provide that no moneys belonging to the perpetual school fund 
or to any other endowment fund for public schools shall be invested 



SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 367 

in Oklahoma State bonds, or in any other securities chargeable 
to, or dependent upon the credit of the State of Oklahoma. 

Provide for an adequate and reliable school census. 

Require the State Department of Education to prepare a uni- 
form system of recording receipts and expenditures and an accom- 
panying handbook of detailed instructions such as have been compil- 
ed by the State departments of New York and Pennsylvania. 

Require the State Department of Education to furnish free to 
counties all forms for financial accounting and reporting. 

RESPONSIBILITY OF THE STATE. 

Summarizing the most important tendency of forward look- 
ing legislation which underlies many of the recommenda- 
tions contained in the preceding sections, a tendency which must 
be recognized and accepted before school burdens and educational 
opportunities can be equalized in any thorough- going manner : 

Place upon the State (which is the only unit capable of equal- 
izing school burdens and educational opportunities) the major por- 
tion of the burden of school support by requiring the State to fur- 
nish funds sufficient to pay the minimum wage to which every 
incumbent of an educational position is entitled by reason of his 
qualifications, professional, and otherwise. This recommendation 
covers salaries of superintendents, assistants, rural supervisors, and 
all members of the staff of the State Board of Education. 

The only important items of expenditure which would be left 
to the local communities to subsidize, if this recommendation be 
adopted, would be school buildings, sites, equipment, cost of furnish- 
ing repairs and operating school buildings, as well as all fixed 
charges. 

FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING PROCEDURE. 

The general statement of organization and procedure covers the 
forms of school organization, jurisdiction and general control, cus- 
tody and disbursement of funds, financial control and budget pro- 
cedure, acquisition of property, and accounting methods. 

Criticisms and constructive suggestions are presented under 
three heads, budgetary procedure, accounting methods, and finan- 
cing methods. Under these heads the criticisms in brief are as fol- 
lows: 



368 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

A. Budgetary Procedure. 

1. Organization for financial control erroneous, 

2. Methods of presenting information regarding school 
finance tend to confuse rather than to inform the 
public. 

3. Methods of estimating revenues extraordinarily con- 
servative. 

4. Duplication of appropriation accounts. 

B. Accounting Methods. 

1. Practice of reporting revenues and expenditures only 
under heads of General Fund and Sinking Fund er- 
roneous. 

2. Appropriation accounts reflect objects of expendi- 
ture with little regard to purpose and character. 

3. Appropriation accounts not followed explicitly when 
incurring expenditures. 

4. Financial statements issuedl in the form of balance 
sheets without being accompanied by operation state- 
ments. 

5. Financial statements showing functional expenditures 
can be developed to further advantage. 

6. School annual statistical reports to State Superinten- 
dent of Education subject to improvement. 

C. Financing Methods. 

1. Bond issues permissable on too liberal a basis. 

2. Authorization to use sinking funds to pay judgments 
unsound finance. 

3. Policy in regard to investing sinking funds question- 
able. 

4. The issue of sinking fund bonds a costly method of 
financing. 

It is to be understood that these criticisms are in no sense crit- 
icisms of individuals, but of methods and procedure. In fact, in 
numerous instances, individuals were found to be producing remark- 
able results considering the difficulties under which they labored. 
Questions were ansAvered freely, information was given willingly, 
and there was no hesitation whatever about exhibiting any and all 
records requested for examination. 



SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 369 

CONCLUSION. 

In conclusion, the major criticism of the public schools of Okla- 
homa, from the financial point of view, is that they are not under the 
financial jurisdiction and control of those who are responsible for 
educational results. This control should be vested in the boards 
of education; and until it is so vested, they cannot be held respon- 
sible for educational policies and programs. 

The following amendments to the school law are suggested: 

(1) County boards of education should be created, and vested 
with authority to revicAv and approve budgets of all non-independ- 
ent schools within their jurisdiction, provided that all tax levies 
incident to those budgets should be within mill limitations as to tax- 
ation for school purposes which now exist in the statutes and State 
Constitution, or which may be hereafter amended. 

(2) Board of education for independent school districts should 
be vested with the same authority as above set forth for the pro- 
posed county boards of education. 

(3) The State board of education should have authority to 
review and approve budgets of subsidiary educational boards, which 
cover different groups of educational activities; the approval of 
these budgets should be subject to such financial limitations as 
the Legislature may prescribe. 

(4) All county and school district tax levies for school purposes 
should be made in accordance with the following subdivisions : 

(a) General Fund, covering current expenses, including play- 
ground activities now a separate levy, and including all repairs and 
replacements of land, buildings and equipment ; with the exception 
of interest on bonds. 

(b) Building Fund, covering all expenditures for additional 
land, buildings, and equipment, or for additions to existing land, 
buildings and equipment. 

(c) Sinking Fund, covering expenditures for bond interest 
and principal. 

(5) The State board of education should be vested with author- 
ity to prescribe all details as to school budget procedure, includ- 
ing the preparation of financial statements and estimates of revenues 
and expenditures; provided that the details of such accounting 
forms as may be required to secure financial data from other sources 
than school officials, which may be required in the consideration of 



370 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

school policies, shall be prescribed by the State Examiner and 
Inspector. 

(6) Whenever the budget of a school district has been ap- 
proved by the board of education having jurisdiction, all tax levies 
incident thereto should be mandatory upon the tax levying agency 
of the district. 

(7) The State board of education should be vested with auth- 
ority to prescribe the methods of recording all school data, both 
statistical and financial, Avhich shall be maintained in the different 
school systems of the State, and to require such periodical reports 
from the schools as it may deem necessary. 

ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION. 

There are two major considerations affecting educational con- 
ditions in Oklahoma: 

(1) Inadequate and unsystematic financial support, the reme- 
dies for which are discussed in Chapter III; and (2) Certain limi- 
tations on the functioning of vital and effective leadership, the 
remedy for which is an enlarged and strengthened State Depart- 
ment of Education. 

The history of education in the United States shows very clearly 
the acceptance of the theory of responsibility of the several States 
for public education within their borders and the development of 
the State as the administrative unit in education. The plans 
which have been adopted in the States are not uniform, however, 
nor is there the same degree of centralization. 

Oklahoma is now in the position of considering what changes, 
if any, to make in the State system of public education for the next 
few years, and has the opportunity to profit by her own experience 
and that of other States. The following analysis of the administra- 
tive features of a State system of education suggests the more im- 
portant points which should be considered. 

1. Unification of general control. — A decision should be reach- 
ed as to the extent or degree of centralization of control to be adopt- 
ed as a State policy. This report recommends that whatever 
changes are made in existing arrangements should be in the direction 
of further centralization of general control and unification of the 
entire system of education. 

2. Determination of objectives. One of the most important 
functions of the agency which may be charged with the responsibil- 



SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 371 

ity of general oversight is to bring about some acceptable determin- 
ation of the objectives of public education. 

3. Definition of functions and responsibilities. Having de- 
termined the objectives of the various parts of the system, it will 
then be possible to make a corresponding assignment of functions 
and division of responsibilities. 

4. Co-ordination. Co-ordination of the activities of the sev- 
eral parts of the system is essential if consistent progress is to be 
made toward realization of the objectives set up. Such co-ordina- 
tion should be specifically provided for, and some officer or board 
should be charged with the duty of securing it. 

5. Determination of standards. Since the immediate man- 
agement of the schools is in the hands of local boards, the State 
must exercise its function of general control through legislative 
enactments and regulatory promulgations. These take the form, 
in part, of prescriptions of minimum standards which are to be 
maintained. These standards relate to compulsory school attend- 
ance, courses of instruction, qualifications and compensation- of 
teachers, and the like. Upon the State also rests the duty of equal- 
izing educational opportunities for all. 

6. Adequate financial support. Participation by the State in 
the financial support of public education is a necessary corollary of 
the principle of State control, and the principle of minimum stand- 
ards set by the State. 

7. Preparation of the budget. The importance of having and 
living up to a budget is no less in educational affairs than in the 
•conduct of other public and private business. Furthermore, the 
preparation of a budget furnishes an additional reason for a uni- 
fied State system of education. 

8. Election, training, and certification of personnel. One of 
the most important functions of the State system of education is 
discharged in its dealing with the problem of the supply of adequate- 
ly pr-i'pared teachers. 

9. Progressive development. It is not sufficient to establish 
an educational system for today ; definite provision should be made 
for future growth and development. The plan of organization 
should look toward progressive improvement and increasing effi- 
ciency. To this end effective and aggressive leadership at the 
various levels should be definitely provided for. 

10. Legislation. Continuous expert study of the legislative 
basis of the State educational system is essential, as well as the plans 



372 PUBLIC ETDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

and policies adopted in other States. 

11. Publicity. The schools belong to the people, and provision 
should be made for keeping them informed as to the goals toward 
which the schools are working, the progress they are making, and 
in general what returns they show on the investment which the peo- 
ple have made in them. 

CONDITIONS UNFAVORABLE FOR THE EXERCISE OF LEAD- 
ERSHIP. 

The desirable ends can be only partially realized under existing 
conditions in Oklahoma, which are distinctly unfavorable to the ex- 
ercise of leadership. 

(1) The first serious defect in the State administrative plan for 
education is found in the large number of unrelated boards and 
offices having to do with educational affairs. 

COMPOSITION OF BOARDS FAULTY. 

(2) Even if it were possible to conduct a system of education 
through a multiplicity of boards such as this, the work would be 
done most inefficiently because of the way in which certain of the 
boards are constituted. Sound principles of administration demand 
a clear division of responsibility between the board of trustees and 
the expert executives and, surbordinates employed by it. 

RECOMMENDATIONS OF LEADERS FREQUENTLY DISRE- 
GARDED. 

(3) A third factor affecting educational progress in Oklahoma 
is the frequent disregard of the counsel and suggestions of the edu- 
cational leaders of the State. Many of the recommendations em- 
bodied in this Survey Report have been urged repeatedly in the past 
by State, County, and City Superintendents, and others who have 
made close study of conditions and needs in Oklahoma. 

Many instances could be cited of progessive recommendations 
originating from those in position of educational leadership in 
Oklahoma, which have come to naught, because they have been re- 
jected without due examination, or because of complexity of ad- 
ministrative machinery and diffusion of responsibility for action. 

STAFF OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. 

. The salary paid to the State superintendent of public instruc- 
tion, or State commissioner of (education, should be considered as an 
index of the importance of the responsibilities of the office, and an 



SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 373 

index of the realization of their importance on the part of the citi- 
zens of the State. The influence of these considerations is reflected 
in a definite tendency toward higher salaries, but a number of States 
are still practicing a false and costly economy in this matter. 

The total payroll for Oklahoma in 1920 was reported as $26,000, 
Oklahoma needs a much better equipped department of education 
even for the maintenance and direction of the present school system. 
If the state is to undertake an educational program such as is out- 

PROPOSED SALARY BUDGET FOR STATE DEPARTMENT 

OF EDUCATION. 

^— 

■^ "* .« 



Title of Position B o'S. §. 






<I> u , C'^ *■ 



M a-H 5^ «S ft ?> 

a 

o 

U 



u 



^P. " I i« 



State superintendent $ 2,500 

Commissioner of education $7,500 $7,500 

Assistant superintendent 2,100 

Asst. Commissioner and director of teacher 

training 6,000 6,000 

Asst. Commissioner & supervisor of school 

administration 6,000 6,000 

Rural school supervisor* 3,500 

Rural school supervisor 1,800 

State supervisor of rural education 4,500 4,500 

Asst. State supervisor of rural education (2) 8,000 8,000 

Agricultural assistant 1,500 

Asst. State supervisor of rural education 4,000 4,000 

High school inspector 2,400 

Asst. high school inspector (2) 3,600 

State supervisor of secondary education 4,500 4,500 

State supervisor of elementary education 4,500 4,500 

State director of vocational education 4,500 4,500 

State supervisor of agricultural education 4,000 4,000 

State supervisor of trades and industries 4,000 4,000 

State supervisor of manual arts 4,000 4,000 

State supervisor of home economics 4,000 4,000 

State director of educational research 5,000 5,000 

State director of physical education 4,500 4,500 

Specialist in school buildings and grounds 4,500 4,500 

State director of education for Negroes 4,500 4,500 

Secretary to State superintendent 1,500 

Secretary to State Board of Education 2,100 

Chief Clerk 2,000 2,500 2,500 

Clerks (3) at $1,200 3,600 

Clerks 2,000 2,000 

Clerks (2) at $1,800 1,800 1,800 3,600 

Clerks (2) at $1,500 1,500 1,500 3,000 

Clerks (5) at $1,200 2,400 3,600 6,000 

Messenger 900 900 



Total $26,600 $67,100 $34,900 $102,000 

•Salary received from General Education Board. 



374 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKX.AHOMA 

lined in this report, and to carry it out intelligently, effectively, 
and economically, the need for a more potent agency for leader- 
ship is imperative. 

The survey, therefore, recommends the establishment of the 
salary of the State Superintendent or Commissioner of Education 
at $7,500, with other salaries in proportion, and the increase of the 
salary budget to $102,000, to be reached by 1925. 

PERSONNEL OF THE STAFF. 

In the appointment of the commissioner of education the State 
board of education should canvass the entire United States and en- 
deavor to select a man of successful experience in large enterprises 
and of broad vision in educational affairs, v^ho is capable of assum- 
ing a position of leadership which will carry the citizens and the 
teachers of the State unitedly to the consummation of the great 
task ahead. 

For assistant commissioner in charge of teacher training should 
be chosen someone of outstanding achievements in this field, whose 
special assignment will be to improve the qualifications of the 
teachers now in service, and to assist in the development of the 
State plans for the preparation of teachers. 

The director of educational research should undertake the re- 
organization of the educational statistics of the department, in- 
cluding data on school costs, revenues, enrollment, attendance, and 
the like. 

The director of physical education should have charge of all 
activities relating to the promotion of physical education, school 
hygiene and sanitation, and health education. 

The specialist in school buildings and grounds should have 
had successful exj)erience in designing and planning school build- 
ings, and should have thorough knowledge of construction and of 
the various kinds of school equipment. 

It should be the duty of the assistant commissioner in charge of 
school administration to work primarily with county and city su- 
perintendents, principals of schools, and other having administrative 
responsibilities. 

The suggestions with reference to the staff in rural education 
are justified both by the importance of rural education in Oklahoma 
and by the demands of the proposed program. There should be a 
supervisor of elementary education, as well as a supervisor of sec- 
ondary education, in order to insure continuous study of these 



SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 375 

special problems, and to provide authoritative sources of inspira- 
tion and guidance in these important phases of education. 

A strong division of vocational education should be organized 
by providing for a State director of vocational education, with a 
staff consisting of supervisors of agricultural education, trades and 
industries, manual arts, and home economics, respectively. 

The importance of the problem of education for negroes in 
Oklahoma should be recognized by the appointment of a director 
who by reason of his special training, experience, and qualifications 
for this Avork will command the confidence and support of the peo- 
ple of both races. The white people of Oklahoma have, in fact, 
at least as much at stake as the negroes in any decision as to what 
educational opportunities shall be provided for the latter. 

In common with many other offices, the department of educa- 
tion is inadequately provided with clerical assistance. The ad- 
ditions suggested will increase the effectiveness of the work, and 
make possible more complete utilization of the expert knowledge 
and abilities represented by the staff. 

HIGHER EDUCATION. 

The obligation on the part of the State to develop higher edu- 
cation, should under no circumstances be considered as a dead ex- 
pense. The more a State actually invests in higher education the 
more certain it can be of the physical comfort of its citizens, the 
stability of its government and the spread of culture. 

The progress of higher education in Oklahoma has been remark- 
able during the past fifteen years. The end is not yet. In the 
future provision must be made in an even more generous way if the 
demands for higher education are to met adequately. 

One of the outstanding features of the growth of higher edu- 
cation in the State is that it has occurred without any definite plaii 
on the part of the State. There are too many State institutions for 
present demands and some of them are unfortunately located. Evi- 
dence is presented later which will show the lack of sound and clear 
objectives in the development noted as it relates to several in- 
stitutions. 

State administration and control of public higher education in 
the early administration was quite decentralized. 
Oklahoma has passed through several phases. In a general way 

In 1911 the State radically changed its method of administering 
its various educational institutions. At that time sixteen State 



376 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

boards were looking after various aspects of education. 

It was truly a bewildering array of machinery to have in charge 
of the State affairs of education. In 1911 an attempt was made 
to bring order out of chaos by setting up a highly centralized control 
through an act Avhich created the State board of education to be 
the legal successor of fourteen of the boards. 

As the organization of the State administration above described 
continued in its work it proved more or less unsatisfactory. The 
reason is not far to seek. Too many heterogeneous interests and 
activities were thrown together, many of which had little or no re- 
lation to others. Consequently, an effort at decentralization was 
made which resulted in 1919 in the creation of a separate board of 
regents for each State institution of higher learning formerly under 
the central board, except for the six State normal schools which re- 
mained under the State Board of Education. 

It should be pointed out here that the experience of Oklahoma 
above recounted can hardly be said to discredit the idea of a cen- 
tral board of control for State higher education. It rather il- 
lustrates the fact that a central board in charge of numerous activi- 
ties not closely related is not likely to prove a success. 

Much thought has been given to the method of State adminis- 
tration now in vogue, in the belief that a clarification of this sit- 
uation will care for many of the defects in the State provision for 
higher education. Certain principles of sound administration may 
be stated : First, The number of State boards should be reduced to 
the smallest number consistent with good administration; Second, 
Each board should be in charge of closely related activities only, if 
it is to look after its charges properly ; Third, Some means should 
be adopted to insure a plan of development, rather than to allow 
progress to occur in sporadic fashion. 

"With these principles in mind, it is recommended that the work 
of higher education be put in charge of four boards as follows : 

1. Board of regents for the State university. 

2. Board of regents for the Agricultural and Mechanical col- 
leges. 

3. Board of regents for the State teachers' colleges. 

4. Board of regents for the Oklahoma College for Women. 
The board of regents for the State university should have in 

chai-ge the university and any State junior colleges of liberal arts 
which are in existence or which may be established in the future. 



SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 377 

Under no circumstances should such junior colleges be established 
except as they are approved by this Board. 

The Miami school of Mines if it is to be continued as a State 
school should be officially reorganized as a junior college of liberal 
arts. 

The board of regents for the agricultural and mechanical col- 
leges should have in charge the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechani- 
cal College and the Colored Agricultural and Normal University. 

The Oklahoma School of Mines and Metallurgy, at Wilburton, 
should be abandoned. 

The constitutional provision which makes the State board of 
agriculture serve as the board of regents of the agricultural and 
mechanical colleges should be repealed. 

The six State teachers' colleges should be under one board of 
regents. 

It is recommended that the boards governing the several insti- 
tutions be given authority by law to purchase equipment, books, and 
supplies, and the State Board of Public Affairs be made responsible 
for purchasing fuel, placing insurance, and erecting buildings, 
the latter function being performed with the advice of the respec- 
tive boards of administration. Such an arrangement will make for 
economical and expeditious service. 

From the state point of view there remains to be considered 
some means or method of coordinating the work of the several 
institutions of higher learning and of holding them to their proper 
functions. Various expedients have been adopted in several quar- 
ters to secure the results. It is one of the underlying reasons which 
has frequently resulted in a central board of control. It does 
not seem advisable to recommend that a single central board of con- 
trol should at present be adopted by the State of Oklahoma, and ac- 
cordingly the setting up of four boards is suggested. To secure some 
form of coordination, representatives of the four boards should hold 
an annual or semi-annual meeting to discuss and determine matters 
which affect more than one of the groups of institutions. 

ORGANIZATION OF STATE BOARDS. 

The evidence which has been submitted to the committee makes 
it clear that the State has been unfortunate in the organization of 
its State boards which have had to do with higher education. In- 
formation is not lacking to the effect that political motives have had 
a prominent part in the State institutions of higher learning. The 



378 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

t 

frequent changing of presidents of the several institutions, with the 
exception of only a few institutions, seems to indicate clearly that 
motives other than professional have all too frequently been pres- 
ent. Such constant changing is extremely unfortunate. 

The remedy is clear. On the one hand there must be a develop- 
ment of public opinion which is greatly interested in the best pos- 
sible provision for higher education and which jealously guards 
against the prostitution of such provision for personal or political 
advantage. 

There should be no ex-offico members on the boards. 

THE PRESIDENCY. 

At the head of the administration of each institution stands the 
president, the direct agent of the board of control. 

Only competent persons should be chosen for the position, it 
is little short of a betrayal of high trust to permit such extraneous 
considerations as personal or political support in any way to have 
consideration in the choice. A further consideration is that once 
able men are secured for the high positions, they should be contin- 
ued in service for long periods. 

Two important reasons may be assigned for this recommenda- 
tion: First, long tenure secures for the State a continuous policy 
without which unified and economical administration is impossible. 
Men who know they are to serve for short periods only are likely 
to plan for short periods, which is likely to result in impetuous de- 
velopment if any at all. Second, security of tenure is essential to 
obtaining the services of the kind of men which the State must have. 

UNCERTAINTY OF TENURE A SEVERE HANDICAP. 

In the institutions other than the university and the college for 
women there is much uncertainty of tenure of position, due partly 
to the annual election of faculty members. 

The constant shifting results in a great loss of loyalty and in 
lowered morale. The remedy lies in the adoption of rules governing 
tenure. Such a businesslike policy would eliminate one of the 
factors which militates against the growth of scholarly spirit. 

The organization of a senate in each of these institutions, com- 
posed of all faculty members who hold the rank of associate pro- 
fessor and above, is suggested as a legislative body so far as courses 
of study and student affairs are concerned. 



SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 379 

THE BUDGET. 

The internal budgets at the various institutions do not seem 
to be well developed. Departments frequently do not know how 
much they have to spend and consequently are hampered in planning 
for equipment and other expenses. 

The president of each institution should be required to pre- 
pare, annually, a budget which should show every source of income. 
On the expenditure side it should present the expenditures for every 
division and department of the institution, the amounts allowed for 
salaries, for equipment, supplies, incidentals, etc. 

In view of the conditions existing at the Agricultural and 
Mechanical College a more complete survey should be made of that 
institution. 

THE TRAINING OF TEACHERS. 

For the training of elementary teachers two agencies have been 
established, of which the first was the State normal schools now 
known as the State teachers' colleges. 

A second agency for training elementary teachers is the normal 
training courses in district agricultural schools and in fully accredit- 
ed high schools under an act approved in 1915. 

In addition to the training agencies above mentioned some ele- 
mentary teachers come from the State university, the agricultural 
and mechanical college, the college for women, and some of the 
private institutions of higher learning. 

It is also estimated that at the present time the State institu- 
tions which prepare high school teachers graduate annually be- 
tween 150 and 200 students with professional training including 
practice teaching in secondary subjects. 

The time has come for the State to provide and require better 
training for its teachers. 

Teacher training classes in the high schools as now organized 
should be regarded as at best but a temporary expedient, and 
should now be abandoned. 

TRAINING SCHOOL FACILITIES INADEQUATE. 

One of the weakest features of the teacher training work at 
the teachers' colleges is the use made of the training school. 

In most of the colleges there seems to be no close correlation 
between the theory of education and the practice teaching. 

The training of high school teachers as carried on in the State 



380 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

university, the agricultural and mechanical college, and the college 
for women, is also seriously handicapped because of inadequate 
training schools. 

FUNCTION OF STATE TEACHERS COLLEGES SHOULD BE 

DEFINED. 

In view of the present situation in Oklahoma the principal 
function of the State teachers' college should be the training of 
elementary teachers. 

"With the development of the program recommended elsewhere 
for State aid to high schools, the secondary grades at the State 
teachers' colleges should be discontinued, one year at a time. 

The State should depend on the imiversity, the agricultural 
and mechanical college, the college for women, and the privately 
controlled colleges for its supply of secondary school teachers. 

The best judgment available does not approve offering the 
four year courses at the teachers' colleges at present, but in any 
event such courses should not> be offered with inadequate faculties. 

THE EDUCATION OF WOMEN. 

In numerous ways Oklahoma has recognized her higher edu- 
cation obligations to the women of the State. From the early terri- 
torial days the university and the Agricultural and Mechanical 
College and the State normal schools have been coeducational. In 
keeping with educational customs in some States a separate in- 
stitution for women was also established. Thus today a Avoman in 
Oklahoma may choose to pursue her higher education in any one of 
the higher institutions of learning and she may pursue any course 
or curriculum. 

With the acceptance of women students in educational insti- 
tutions certain special obligations are assured. The physical and 
social welfare of women is of vital concern to the State. 

A dean or director of women should be placed in each additional 
institutions, and she should have such assistance and cooperation 
from other members of the faculty as will enable her to assure to 
all women satisfactory social conditions. 

HOME ECONOMICS EDUCATION. 

Home economics instruction is only one factor in the liberal 
education of Avomen but it is a very important one inasmuch as 
home economics and the basic physical, biological, and social 



SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 381 

sciences upon which it rests compose the group of subjects which 
afford excellent preparation for intelligent participation in civic 
and community affairs. 

The objectives of home economics Instruction in the university 
should be three : FiTst, it should make a definite contribution to 
the general and cultural education of a maximum number of women 
students in the institution. Second, there should be a home eco- 
nomies curriculum for the preparation of high school teachers. 
Third, special curricula should be outlined for the training of 
dietitians for hospital, institutional, commercial, and public school 
positions. 

Three additional recommendations : First, the university home 
economics curricula should be based on at least one full year of 
high school home economics. Second, the curriculum leading to 
the bachelor's degrees in home economics should be broadened. 
Third, no home economics of great value can be given at the uni- 
versity until rooms, equipment, and teaching staff are provided. A 
cafeteria is an essential unit of a good department. 

There are several major functions of home economics in 
agricultural and mechanical college : First, careful attention must 
be given to prepare teachers of high school home economics. 
Second, there should be curricula to prepare county home demon- 
stration agents of which there are 46 in the State. Third, eleetives 
not a part of the home economics curricula must be available for 
women students not majoring in home economics. All of these im- 
portant functions should be fully recognized in home economics 
instruction. 

Finally, the present organization of home economies is faulty. 
All resident teaching, all correspondence courses, and all extension 
teaching should be under one single division. To maintain several 
departments dealing with the same subject matter is unwise. 

The educational atmosphere at the Women's College at Chick- 
asha is conducive to the maintenance of excellent instruction in 
home economics, but the material surroundings both for this sub- 
ject and the basic sciences are far from being satisfactory. A 
special building science teaching and home economics education is 
greatly needed. 

homp: economics in the state teachers' colleges. 

Home economics at the teachers' colleges should serve two 
definite purposes, the primary of which is to furnish such infor- 



382 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

mation and skill as will prepare the teacher in an undepartmental- 
ized school to fulfill the legal requirement that home economics be 
taught to the second and eighth grade girls in the State. 

A secondary purpose of home economics in teachers' colleges 
is to give such elective instruction as will assist the teacher to 
secure for herself the maximum physical health and Avell-being 
during her years of service. 

ENGINEERING. 

The recommendations which pertain to engineering are four: 
First, the recommendation regarding the schools of mines has al- 
ready been given. In keeping with this recommendation, it is 
recommended further, that, providing there is a sufficient demand, 
courses in mining engineering be offered at the university, thus 
placing the courses on a profession basis. 

Second, the curricula in chemical engineering at the agricultural 
and mechanical college and at the State university are a needless 
duplication, as the demand for chemical engineers is not large 
enough for the State to support two such courses of instruction. It 
is recommended that chemical engineering be given only at the 
university. 

Third, the engineering equipment at the university is woefully 
inadequate, and far below the standard of a first class engineering 
school. More apparatus, machinery, and housing are needed. 
Steps should be taken as soon as possible to bring the facilities for 
engineering instruction at the university up to standard. 

Fourth, one of the important developments in agriculture is in 
the field of rural engineering. This work should be given greater 
attention, and should be more adequately supported. 

After a careful consideration it appears that a School of Com- 
merce and Marketing at the Agricultural and Mechanical college 
is a mistake. 

It seems clear that the Agricultural and Mechanical College has 
a distinct and most important service to render to the State — a 
service which is greatly impeded by setting up courses of study 
which have little or no relation to the main purposes of the col- 
lege. 

The work in economics at the Agricultural and Mechanical 
College can and should properly serve three purposes: First, there 
is a need for courses in general economics as a part of the training 
given to students in the school of science and literature. Second. 



SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 383 

there is an important need for strong work in rural economics. 
Third, there is need for training commercial teachers who shall go 
into the high schools to teach business courses. 

MEDICINE. 

The development of medical instruction as a part of the work of 
the University of Oklahoma began in 1900 when the first two years 
of a medical course were offered at Norman. In 1910 the third 
and fourth years were established in Oklahoma City. Two years 
later the Training School for Nurses was begun. 

At present the work of the medical school is conducted at three 
places — the university, the old city hospital building, and the new 
hospital building built in 1920. 

All of the work in medicine should be brought together under 
one roof in Oklahoma City. It is fundamental to the most suc- 
cessful development of medical education in the future. 

The school is comparatively young and it faces an abundance 
of problems. One of these is to provide a larger full time teach- 
ing staff. 

A second problem is to erect a clinical building at the hospital 
and abandon the building now used for clinical purposes. 

The university should as soon as possible develop a school of 
public health in conjunction with the medical school. 

GRADUATE WORK. 

Opportunities for study beyond that for the baccalaureate de- 
gree are offered by the university and the Agricultural and Mechani- 
cal College. 

Graduate study is a field of work to which the State can well 
afford to give more attention, especially if it desires to secure the 
ablest leadership and to provide for the welfare of its citizens. For 
the present it is wise not to reach out beyond the masters and pro- 
fessional degrees, but work of these grades should be very material- 
ly strengthened. 

One of the important functions of institutions of higher learn- 
ing is to promote the public welfare by adding to the store of use- 
ful knoAvledge, which aids man in his conquest over nature, which 
shows him how to maintain his health, and which promotes his hap- 
piness generally. 



384 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

EXTENSION AND CORRESPONDENCE. 

One of the ways by M^hich the State institutions of higher educa- 
tion reach out from their doors to all sections of the State, and thus 
serve the citizens in every extensive way, is through their exten- 
sion service and correspondence courses. 

Extension and correspondence work in Oklahoma has great 
possibilities, and it should be encouraged by generous appropri- 
ations from the State along many lines. 

In order that wasteful and unnecessary duplication of effort 
in these fields may be avoided, and in order that there may be some 
uniformity in extension practices, it is recommended that the exten- 
sion directors of the several higher educational institutions meet and 
agree on a program. 

THE HIGHER EDUCATION OF NEGROES. 

The purpose of State higher education for Negroes is threefold : 
First, teachers must be trained for the Negro schools. Second, vo- 
cational training must be given, as is mentioned eleswhere. Third, 
there is need for a number of Negroes who are trained in the pro- 
fessions such as medicine, the ministry, etc. 

The only institution of higher learning for Negroes in the 
State is the Colored Agricultural and Normal University at Lang- 
ston, which offers a four-year high school curriculum and two-year 
normal and college curricula. 

Excellent progress has been made in the school during the past 
few years since it has been under the present management. 

A study of conditions shows that the first step toward improving 
the institution should be to change its location. Three reasons may 
be stated for this view: First, the Negro population of the State 
is fairly well concentrated in certain sections. A Second reason 
and an important one for a change in location, is that where the 
school now is there are not enough children to organize a satis- 
factory training school. Third, the school at present is several miles 
from the railroad, and this circumstance adds considerably to the 
expense of running the school. 

STANDARDS. 

In order that entrance credits may be more easily and uniformily 
evaluated and clasified, it is recommended that all the State insti- 
tutions of higher learning and the State Department of Education 
join in the adoption of a uniform high school and college entrance 



SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 385 

certificate. It is further recommended that the original college en- 
trance certificates accepted by the institutions of higher learning 
be kept en file at the institutions. 

JUNIOR COLLEGES. 

Oklahoma has two junior colleges under State control, and sev- 
eral localities have definitely begun junior college work by giving 
one year of college work in connection with their high schools. 
There are also two privately controlled junior colleges within the 
State. 

Undoubtedly the purpose in extending the course of study of 
the Panhandle Agricultural Institute in 1921 to include two years 
of college work was to provide collegiate education for a section 
of the State which is far remoA^ed from the State institutions of 
higher learning. Elsewhere it is recommended that the State Dis- 
trict Agricultural Schools be gradually discontinued and that a 
system of adequate State aid for high schools be developed. This 
recommendation is especially applicable to the panhandle school. 

The question then arises, Avhat provision shall be made to give 
higher education to the graduates of the high schools. Two 
courses are open. First, the institution at Goodwell can be main- 
tained as a junior college. 

If a junior college is to be maintained it! should be kept up to 
such a standard that it will be recognized by the State university. 

A second course which is open to provide instruction of college 
grade is for the State to pay the round trip transportation annually 
of students from the three panhandle counties to any of the fol- 
loA\dng which a student desires to attend : the University of Okla- 
homa, the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College, and the 
Northwestern State Teachers College. 

It is recommended that the junior college work at the Pan- 
handle Agricultural and Mechanical College be gradually brought 
up to recognized standards ; that the college work be materially im- 
proved for the next year (1923-24) ; and that the high school work 
be discontinued by dropping the first year in June, 1923, the second 
year in June, 1924, the third year in June, 1925, and the fourth year 
in June, 1926. 

Several additional suggestions and recommendations pertain to 
a number of unrelated matters. First, it is recommended that 
serious consideration be given by the State authorities to the desir- 
ability of removing certain of the educational institutions to other 

S. S. 13 



386 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

locations in which they might be able to render more acceptable 
service to the State. Inaccessibility and inconvenient railroad con- 
nections are serious handicaps to the growth and development of any 
educational institution. 

Second,, it is suggested that catalogs of institutions should not 
print outlines of courses which they have no reasonable expectation 
of offering. 

Third, it is recommended that the State establish a rotary loan 
fund at each institution of higher education, such a fund to be avail- 
able to worthy students who need assistance. 

STUDENT WELFARE. 
PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND HEALTH. 

Recognition of the importance of physical education and health 
has resulted in certain definite programs for promoting health : 
First, facilities were provided for thorough medical examinations 

for all students at least once a year and as many more times 

as such examinations were deemed necessary. 
Second, provision was made for remedial or curative treatment for 

all students in need of it. 
Third, the support of an infirmary with nursing and medical care 

has been adopted to assure all students good care during tem- 
porary illness. 
Fourth, gymnasiums and atheltic fields were enlarged and improved. 
Fifth, the physical education staffs were increased. 
Sixth, instruction in health and hygiene are given to all freshmen 
students. 

The following recommendations are made : 

First, In each educational institution enrolling 1,000 or more 
students, there should be at least one physician employed on full 
time and attached either to the physical education staff or to the 
biological science division. 

Second, In institutions with an enrollment of less than 1,000 a 
physician should be employed for a definite portion of his time, 
with like responsibilites and authority. 

Third, Full-time women physicians should be employed at the 
Womans College, the State University, and the Agricultural Col- 
lege, who shall devote their entire time to the health and welfare 
of the women students. 

Fourth, Modern and adequate infirmaries should be maintained 
at each of the higher educational institutions. 



SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 387 

Fifth, Physical education and hygiene should receive much 
greater consideration at the normal schools than is now given, and 
full time physical education instructors should be employed. The 
gymnasiums should be repaired or rebuilt, and supplied with suit- 
able conveniences. 

Sixth. For the men students at the State University there 
should be built a modern, adequate gymnasium, to the end that all 
men shall have ample opportunity for the finest physical develop- 
ment possible. 

Seventh, Provision should be made immediately for suitable 
quarters for the physical education of women at the Agricultural 
College. 

LIVING CONDITIONS. 

The following recommendations are made concerning living 
conditions of students : 

First, Oklahoma should immediately accept her responsibility 
for properly housing and feeding at least one-half of the women 
students in the higher educational institutions. 

Second, Cafeterias administered by the home economics depart- 
ments should be maintained for the day students at the State in- 
stitutions. 

Thirds As soon as practicable a portion of the men students 
should be accommodated in college-owned dormitories. 

PHYSICAL EQUIPMENT. 

One of the important items in the development of Oklahoma's 
higher educational institutions is that of a sufficient amount of land 
for each. None of the schools now has enough land for its ulti- 
mate needs. 

Buildings at all State higher educational institutions are in- 
adequate for present enrollments. 

It is recommended that a State building program for all in- 
stitutions of higher learning be adopted for a period of ten years 
with a view to providing each school with the necessary buildings. 

Plans for the future of the University and the Agricultural and 
Mechanical College should look forward to enrollments of from 
5,000 to 8,000 students each ; for the College for Women, 1,000 stud- 
ents and for each of the State teachers' college, from 800 to 1,000 
college students. 

Throughout the several State institutions generous appropri- 
ations are needed to provide for more scientific equipment. 



388 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

THE COST OF THE PROGRAM. 

There remains to be considered the cost of an adequate State 
system of higher education in Oklahoma. It is recommended that 
for land and buildings at each institution approximately the follow- 
ing sums be made available annually for ten years : 

State University $750,000 

Agricultural and Mechanical College 450,000 

College for Women 200,000 

Each State teachers' college 125,000 

Colored Agricultural and Normal University 125,000 

In general each institution should have, when properly equip- 
ped, educational buildings totaling in cost about $1,000.00 for each 
full-time college student of the average enrollment from September 
to June, and in addition such dormitories and other buildings as are 
necessary to meet the needs. 

LIBRARIES. 

The library is and must remain a principal feature of any edu- 
cational institution. None of the schools has enough useful books 
or sufficient library accommodations. 

The following recommendations are made : First, Sums rang- 
ing from $5 to $10 per student should be made available for books 
and magazines at the several institutions. 

Second^ The amounts available for salaries of the library staffs 
should be approximately equal to the amounts available for books 
on the above basis. 

Third, At each institution plans for the enlargement of the 
present library building, or for a new library building, should be 
prepared after consultation with expert librarians of larger institu- 
tions. 

REVENUES. 

First, the income derived from the production taxes on oil and 
minerals should be invested in a State building program. In such 
a program other State institutions besides those for higher education 
should be included. To expend this income in a way other than in 
a permanent investment seems very unwise. 

Second, At least a part of the money for higher education 
should be provided by means of a millage tax. Such taxation pro- 
vides a definite amount which can form the basis of planning. 

Third, The income from the various Federal land grants should 
be made available to the institutions concerned without appropri- 



SUMMARY OF RECOMMEXDATIONS 389 

ation by the State Legislature. These grants are for specifie purposes. 
To include them in the appropriation bills can serve no good end 
and it makes it appear that these moneys are raised by taxation. 

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS CONCERNING RURAL 

SCHOOLS. 

(1) The elementary and secondary school system, teacher pre- 
paring institutions and functions, and certificating authority should 
be under the direction and superivision of the State board of edu- 
cation. The board should be composed of 7 or nine members elect- 
ed at large on a non-partisan basis and should serve long terms, 
probably 7 or 9 years. 

(2) The State Superintendent should be appointed by the 
board for a term and at a salary to be fixed by the board, and should 
be its executive officer to whom education matters are delegated 
for execution. The board itself should function as a legislative 
body. 

(3) A Division of Rural Schools should be established in the 
State department of education with one director in charge and at 
least 3 assistants. 

(4) Present school district lines and organizations should be 
discontinued, except in the case of certain districts meeting stand- 
ard requirements of the State board of education as to territory, 
valuation, and educational efficiency. All other districts now 
designated as ungraded rural, union graded, consolidated, and in- 
dependent should together form county systems of schools admin- 
istered by county board of education. 

COUNTY BOARDS OF EDUCATION. 

(5) The county board of education should be composed of 
5 or 7 members elected at large for terms of 5 to 7 years each, one 
term expiring each year. They should have general control over 
all schools of the county outside of independent districts, have 
power to levy a county- wide school tax to be apportioned on an 
equalizing basis as bet ween. independent districts and county school 
districts, and should appoint as executive officer of the board a 
county superintendent of schools. 

(6) The county superintendent should be appointed for a term 
and salary designated by the board; should hold an administrative 
and supervisory certificate as provided in the certification law; 
should be a person of executive ability, broad training and eul- 



390 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

ture, and successful administrative experience, selected Avithout re- 
gard to residence within or without the State or county, but solely 
because of special fitness for the position. 

(7) The county board, upon the nomination of the County 
superintendent, should appoint the supervisors and teaching staff; 
should levy a special tax for the support of the schools under its 
administrative control, and apportion it among the schools in the 
county according to their needs; provide buildings and equipment; 
locate school buildings and sites; fix the county salary schedule 
within the law; and perform all other duties usually assigned to 
boards of school trustees. 

(8) An adequate supervisory and clerical staff, suitable office, 
accommodations and equipment, and traveling expenses for superin- 
tendents and supervisors should be provided by the county board. 
Professional supervisors should be 'selected because of special ability, 
preparation, and successful experience, and should be paid salaries 
commensurate with the importance of their work. They should 
be nominated by the county superintendent and act as his assistants. 
At least one supervisor to every 40 teachers in addition to the first 
25 should be employed ; one supervisor for every 25 teachers is a bet- 
ter allocation. 

(9) As soon as State and county departments are properly 
staffed a Division of School Attendance should be established in 
the State department, which should work with and through the 
county department of education. The responsibility for the en- 
forcement of the compulsory education law should be assumed by 
this division. A new system of keeping attendance records and re- 
ports and of encouraging better school attendance should be inaugu- 
rated. 

COURSE OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 

(10) A new course of study should be prepared by the State 
board of education providing specifically in content and organiza- 
tion for the needs of rural schools of all the different types prevalent 
in the State. 

(11) A Division of School Buildings should be established 
in the State department, which should cooperate with the county 
departments of education. All new buildings and repairs for 
amounts greater than $400 should be submitted by the county su- 
perintendent for approval by the State building inspectors. These 
officers should be empowered to condemn present buildings which 



SUMMARY OF RECOMMEXDATIONS 391 

do not meet the standards and requirements fixed by the State board 
of education. 

(12) Special provision for the training of teachers for rural 
schools should be made at an early date. Standards for teacher 
preparing courses should be set by the State board of education and 
requirements should conform to the provisions of the certification 
law and be gradually increased as rapidly as is consistent with the 
demand for teachers and the welfare of the schools. As soon as 
possible requirements for teaching certificates, standards for teacher 
preparing courses, and entrance requirements to classes and in- 
stitutions preparing teachers should be equivalent for rural and 
urban schools. 

(13) The movement for centralizing schools needs direction. 
The administrative organization suggested above will provide this, 
l^^ven with liberal State aid for equalization of educational appoint- 
ments and tax burdens, it will probably be necessary for the State 
to assume all or a large proportion of the expense of transporta- 
tion. The growing number of centralized schools indicate that 
there is a demand for special attention to their needs in organiza- 
tion, management, instruction, and course of study on the part of 
State authorities. 

RURAL HIGH SCHOOLS. 

(1) Oklahoma should develop a system of rural junior high 
schools whereby instruction in grades 7, 8, and 9, may be made 
effective and elementary schools relieved of the burden of the work 
in grades 7 and 8. Work in these grades is now maintained at 
the cost of efficiency in the first six grades. 

(2) The independent district system should be abandoned 
and the county unit system substituted under proper conditions 
of State aid. Inequalities of educational opportunity will thus 
be materially reduced. 

(3) The State board for vocational education should be made a 
part of the State department of education thus avoiding the pos- 
sibility of conflicting educational policies. 

PART TIME CLASSES SHOULD BE DEVELOPED FURTHER. 

(4) Oklahoma should give much more attention to the de- 
velopment of part-time work in vocational agricultural and in home 
economics. 

(5) Itinerant teaching on the part of vocational instructors 
should become general in sparsely settled agricultural counties. 



392 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

(6) Club work Avith boys and girls under the Smith-Lever 
service should be placed on a definitely educational basis under 
the direction of county superintendents. 

(7) Curricula definitely adapted to the needs of rural boys 
and girls should be developed in rural high schools. 

(8) Local administration in high schools should make such use 
of alternation and rotation of subjects in the curriculum as to 
insure that classes are of the proper size and a proper teaching 
load is maintained. 

(9) A complete reorganization of instruction in English is 
desirable. 

SOCIAL SCIENCES. 

(10) Instruction in social sciences should be emphasized and 
should grow out of problems laid bare by a study of the community. 

(11) Vocational guidance rather than vocational training 
should be sought in the junior high school years. 

(12) The State department should immediately undertake the 
task of organizing vocational courses in agriculture about the prac- 
tice jobs of the dominant agricultural enterprises of the State. 

(13) Instruction in home economics should make general use 
of a project method and get aM^ay from the academic method now 
prevailing. 

(14) State schools of agriculture should be placed on a basis 
of local support with State aid. 

(15) State Schools of agriculture should be placed under the 
control of the State department of education so long as they operate 
as State schools. 

(16) The State schools of agriculture should conform to the 
recommendations for curricula in comprehensive senior high schools. 

(17) Administration of rural high schools of the boarding type 
should bring about a close correlation between the three units which 
make up the schools, the school proper, the farm, and the boarding 
department. 

(18) A real vocational method in agriculture should be fol- 
lowed at such schools through a group project method. 

(19) Land owning rural high schools should become a center 
for agricultural extension work. 



SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 393 

THE UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY SCHOOL. 
AND THE OKLAHOMA MILITARY ACADEMY. 

Much of what has been said with reference to the District Agri- 
cultural Schools applies M-ith equal force to the University Prepara- 
tory School, at Tonka wa, and the Oklahoma Military Academy, at 
Claremore. At the dates when these schools were established, it 
was thought that the maintenance of secondary schools of these 
types by the State was necessary to the proper development of pub- 
lic education in Oklahoma. The conditions then obtaining, how- 
ever, no longer exist. With the subsequent improvements which 
have taken place, and with the development of public high schools 
along lines recommended in this report, it is difficult to see the 
necessity for the continuance of these schools as now constituted 
under State support and control. If they are to be continued as 
State institutions, their functions should be defined more specifi- 
cally, in harmony with the general educational program suggested 
in this report. 

VILLAGE AND CITY SCHOOLS. 

Amend or revise the Constitution in such a manner as to permit 
a school unit to raise sufficient funds to maintain standard schools. 

A LONGER SCHOOL YEAR. 

Section 58 of the school laws should be repealed and a law en- 
acted requiring all school districts to maintain at least 8 months 
of school of 1924-25 ; and 9 months thereafter. 

Amend or revise Section 443 in such a manner as to make it 
mandatory upon an Excise Board to levy whatever rate, within 
the law, a school Board may decide that it needs to run the school 
properly. If a school Board fails to appropriate a sufficient sum 
the excise board may exercise the right to increase the appropriation. 

The present system of issuing teachers' certificates should be 
gradually abolished, and the plan herein proposed substituted for 
the present system as rapidly as possible. 

NUMBER AND KIND OF CERTIFICATES. 

The law should provide that the State Board of Education shall 
make regulations concerning the number and classes of teaching 
certificates, and shall fix regulations for the same in addition to the 
minimum prerequisites fixed by law; that the board shall provide 
for at least seven classes of certificates, mth at least two grades 
of each. 



394 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

As rapidly as possible all teachers in grades 7 to 12 in city 
schools should be expected to meet the qualifications prescribed 
by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. 
These standards should not, for the present, apply to rural schools 
so far as the 7th and 8th grades are concerned. 

The certification law should be accompanied by a minimum sal- 
ary provision. The minimum salary should be prescribed for each 
grade of certificate, which salary should increase at least $50.00 a 
step as requirements increase. 

MODERN EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES. 
The public schools of Oklahoma should adopt the seven cardi- 
nal objectives of education announced by the Committee on the Re- 
organization of Secondary Education, or some similar formulation of 
aims. The seven objectives are : health, command of fundamental 
processes, worthy home membership, vocation, citizenship, worthy 
use of leisure, and ethical character. 

REORGANIZATION OF CITY SCHOOL SYSTEMS. 

At present, most of the city school systems of Oklahoma pro- 
vide twelve grades of instruction. The twelve years are divid- 
ed into eight years of elementary and four years of high school, 
or what is commonly known as the 8-4 plan of organization. It 
is gratifying to note that many cities in Oklahoma have found it 
advantageous to modify the standard 8-4 plan and to inaugurate 
the 6-3-3 plan, or the 6-6 plan. In every instance observed, the 
adoption of the 6-3-3 or the 6-6 plan has apparently been decidedly 
advantageous. This plan is recommended for all cities, and the 
standards of the North Central Association of Colleges and Sec- 
ondary schools may well be adopted as guiding principles by city 
school boards throughout the State in the development of junior and 
senior high schools. 

FREE TEXT BOOKS. 

County uniformity of free text-books should be provided ex- 
cept in districts of 2,500 population or over. The State should not 
attempt to print its own text-books, or continue the present policy 
of State uniformity. 

The fundamental principles that should guide in the selection 
of text-books have been largely ignored in the present text-book law. 
The following cardinal principles, which should be the basis of leg- 
islation in regard to text-books, are set forth in the report. 



SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 395 

STATE AID FOR FREE TEXT BOOKS. 

It is recommended that the State shall provide each school unit, 
for the purchase of text-books, the sum of three to five dollars per 
pupil enrolled in kindergarten and grades one to six inclusive; the 
sum of four to six dollars for each white and colored pupil enrolled 
in grades seven to twelve inclusive ; provided that all money not ex- 
pended for the purchase of text-books may be spent in purchasing 
supplementary and reference books ; provided also that all money not 
so expended shall revert to the general school fund of the State. It- 
is estimated that after the first year free text-books will cost from 
one-third to one-half of the above estimate. This provides for re- 
placements. Appropriations should be made on this basis. 

Practically all of the cities visited should spend much more 
money for equipment; including charts, maps, sand tables, etc., for 
the grade schools. The needs of the high schools in the way of 
laboratory equipment have been fairly well met. In most cities 
the library facilities are very poor and should be materially in- 
creased. Supplementary reading material should be supplied much 
more liberally than is done throughout the twelve grades. Few 
schoolhouses or rooms are supplied with good pictures. Appro- 
priations made for the purchase of choice pictures as good educa- 
tional investments. 

The general provision in Section (397) which empowers the 
State Text-Book Commission "to select and adopt maps, charts, 
globes and other apparatus" should be repealed, along with other 
provisions of Section (397). Such materials should be selected by 
the same agencies as is elsewhere provided in this report for the 
selection of free text-books. 

CmVNGES IN TAKING OF CENSUS AND IN COMPULSORY AT- 
TENDANCE LAWS. 

The following changes are recommended: 

(a) The Superintendent of Schools should direct and the 
teachers take the school census. 

(b) The compulsory attendance law should apply equally 
to children attending non-public schools. 

(c) The limiting clause of Section (240) which permits chil- 
dren to absent themselves one-third of the time the school is in 
session should be repealed, and "full time" attendance should be 
required. 

(d) A provision should be added to Section (253) making it 



396 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

mandatory iov Counties of 52,000 population or more to provide a 
county home for dependent white boys. 

(e) Section (245) and Section (248) should be amended to 
read "Destitute mothers of children under the age of sixteen years." 

(f) The minimum age for compulsory school attendance should 
be reduced from eight to seven years. 

(g) All non-public schools should be subject to inspection by 
local and State school authorities, and should be required to maintain 
standards for teacher preparation and certification, courses of study, 
school hygiene and sanitation, and attendance requirements, the 
equivalent of standards set up by the local and State public school 
authorities. 

ATTENDANCE LAWS. 

Directly associated Avith the school census is the problem of 
attendance. Section (241) requires the appointment in cities 
or incorporated towns of truancy officers by the Board of Educa- 
tion, and in School districts the appointment of truancy officer by 
County Superintendent. Attendance in city school systems seems 
to be fairly satisfactory in the white schools. Attendance officers 
state, however, that the provision which requires (Section 340) 
that the child be compelled to attend but two-thirds of the session 
practically nullifies the effective administration of the law. 

This limiting clause, namely the two-thirds proposition in the 
law, should be repealed immediately, and all children compelled to 
attend the full session unless physically or mentally incapacitated. 
This should apply equally to white and colored children under six- 
teen years of age. 

Section (245) and Section (248), which provide for the aiding 
of "Destitute mothers' should be amended to read "Mothers of 
children under sixteen years." There is a gap of two years be- 
tween the age fourteen, as stated in the present law, and sixteen 
years, provided for in "Compulsory Attendance Law and Child 
Labor Law," which has proved to be the cause of genuine distress. 

CONCERNING COUNTY HOME. 

Section (253) provides for "A county home for dependent white 
boys" in any county having a population of 52,000 in 1920. This 
number might Avell be reduced to twenty-five thousand population 
and provision made that two or more counties may jointly carry out 
the provisions of the Act. In counties over 52,000 it is recommended 
that the act be made mandatory. 



SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 397 

RETARDATION AND ELIMINATION OF PUPILS. 

The following recommendations are made for reducing retard- 
ation : 

(a) Parents should be urged to enter children at the earliest 
possible legal age. 

(b) Kindergartens should be established wherever school 
funds permit and enrollment justifies. 

(c) Greater care should be taken in grading, classifying, and 
promoting children. 

(d) Homogeneous speed grouping should begin with the first 
grade and continue throughout the system. 

(e) Scientific diagnostic and remedial work should accompany 
homogeneous speed grouping. 

(f) Medical and physical supervision should be provided for 
all children. 

(g) Regular attendance in the primary grades should be 
stressed as in upper grades. 

DEFINITION OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS. 

At the present time there is some confusion concerning the defi- 
nition of the different types of school districts, and also concerning 
the application of various laws to the different types. This con- 
fusion should be cleared up in order that the proper administration 
of the various school districts may be faeiJitated. 

SCHOOL HYGIENE AND HEALTH EDUCATION. 

One of the cardinal principles in modern education is the conser- 
vation of the health of the pupils and the creating of a health con- 
science. That is, the individual pupil should think not only of 
his own health but also how he may contribute to a general commun- 
ity health. Children should be taught the principles of health and 
hygiene. 

HELPFUL SERVICE OF THE SCHOOL NURSE. 

One of the most helpful agents in promoting health in the 
public schools is the school nurse. By inspecting the school fre- 
quently she discovers communicable diseases in their incipient state 
and thus prevents epidemics. The nurse also many times discovers 
physical abnormalities unsuspected by the parents of the children. 
The nurse's Avork is not only corrective and remedial but also edu- 
cational. 

The splendid work in educational tests and measurements in a 



398 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

number of school systems should be encouraged and extended, and 
its benefits made State-wide. 

A law should be enacted and enforced making it illegal for any 
school board to erect or remodel any school building until the State 
Superintendent of Public Instruction, or an officer delegated by 
him, has certified to the clerk of the Board in writing to the ei¥ect 
that he has examined and approved the plans and specifications for 
the proposed building or remodeling. A minimum amount of two 
acres of ground for each school building should be required, unless 
for reason the requirement is waived by the State Superintendent 
of Public Instruction. The State Superintendent of Public In- 
struction should be required to prepare and adopt regulations fix- 
ing certain minimum standards for school buildings and 
equipment, and covering the plans and specifications of the same. 
Local school authorities who ignore and violate these standards 
should be punishable under the law. 

Boards of education in growing communities should be encour- 
aged to lay out a ten to tAventy year building jDrograni for the 
community. Sites should be purchased as long as possible in ad- 
vance of the time when they will be needed. School systems should 
not be allowed, like Topsy, to just groAv. If city planning is pos- 
sible, city school system planning is even more possible. 

Many cities in Oklahoma are making satisfactory progress in 
this regard, and this progress is to be commended to other munici- 
palities. 

The training equipment and ability of the teachers in the city 
schools of Oklahoma rank up with the same class in other cities of 
the United States. At present, there is no shortage in the supply 
of city school teachers. This applies to both trained and untrained 
teachers. 

If every superintendent rigidly observes the practice of employ- 
ing, for all ncAv A^acancies in the elementary school, only normal 
school graduates, and only college graduates in high school, it Avould 
be but a short time before Oklahoma Avould rank AA'ith Massachu- 
setts in the qualifications and training of the teachers. 

FcAv cities in Oklahoma attempt to maintain a scientifically 
graded salary schedule. The fcAV attempts are commendable in 
their accomplishments. 

The Oklahoma School LaAv on teachers' pensions apparently 
is a failure. There is a law on the statute books, but there is no 
money for its enforcement. Furthermore, the laAv itself is scarcely 



SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 399 

adequate. Oklahoma should have an adequate teachers' pension 
law. A commission should be appointed, authorized by the Legis- 
lature, for the sole purpose of investigating and reporting to the 
Legislature a sound State-wide teachers' pension and annuity sys- 
tem. 

The powers and duties of boards of education should be more 
specifically defined. 

The relation of the superintendent to the board should be 
clearly defined. 

The law on the tenure of school superintendents should be 
amended so as to permit a Board of Education to contract with a 
Superintendent for a period of three to five years by a majority 
vote. 

The powers and duties of superintendents and other officers 
should be specifically defined. 

The Survey commends the Junior Colleges which have been es- 
tablished in a few cities, and the desire to develop standard one and 
two-year college courses in conjunction with other city school sys- 
tems. It is more economical to train college Freshmen and Sopho- 
mores in standard public junior colleges under the administration 
and partial support of local school units than it is to train them 
in State schools. 

SCHOOLS FOR NEGROES. 

Schools for Negroes should be operated on the same basis, and 
maintain the same standards as white schools, and they should be 
under the administration and support of the Board of Education 
of each local unit with a population of 2,500 or over. 

EDUCATION FOR INDIANS. 

The factors to be considered in formulating policies for Indian 
education are first, the economic, hygiene, and tribal conditions of 
the Indians ; second, the enumeration and enrollment of Indian 
youth of school age, and the school facilities now available for the 
Indians; third, the financial support of Indian education, and the 
relation of this support to the extensive areas of the non-taxable 
land in Oklahoma; fourth, the principles and methods of Indian 
Education during the transition of Indian youth from the boarding 
and day schools of the U. S. Indian Bureau to the public school sys- 
tem of the state; and fifth, recommendations concerning the edu- 
cation of Indians in Oklahoma. 



400 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

SOME FACTS CONCERNING THE CHILDREN. 

In order to have some estimate of the number of Indian chil- 
dren now in boarding schools who should possibly be in public school, 
a study was made of the homes of the pupils in three of the largest 
government boarding schools in western Oklahoma and three of 
the Tribal schools of eastern Oklahoma with the following points 
in view : 

(1.) To find the number of Indian children now in boarding 
schools who should continue there. 

(2.) To find the number of children now in boarding schools 
who might be placed in public schools if provided with the assistance 
of a Home and' School Visitor or Field matron to ad as interpreter 
of the child to the public school and of the school to the home of 
the child. 

(3.) To discover the number of Indian children now in board- 
ing schools whose home conditions are such that they can be in 
available public schools. 

The following conclusions can be deduced: (1.) Of the 
598 children on whose home conditions information could be gained, 
406 should continue in boarding schools. (2.) 131 might be trans- 
ferred to public schools if provided with the help of a Home and 
School Visitor. (3.) 61, only 15 of whom are from the Avestern 
district, might now be in public schools. 

The following conditions make attendance of the majority of 
the pupils in boarding schools either desirable or necessary : Finan- 
cial inability to pay tuition in public schools; distance from public 
school, (three or more miles and difficulties of travel where the 
distances are less) ; lack of home because of death, immorality, sep- 
aration, and wandering propensities of parents or cruelty of step- 
parents; insanitary home conditions and disease. 

DIFFICULTIES TO BE OVERCOME. 

The following statements from the Government Health Drive 
records throw additional light on the need of boarding schools for 
Indian children, or a radical change in the public school system: 

(1.) "Many Indian children 14 or 15 years of age are in the 
1st and 2nd grades." 

(2.) "Indian children in public schools do not always receive 
proper consideration from white pupils and teachers." 

(3.) "Indian children enrolled in public schools attend so ir- 
regularly that they receive little benefit." 



SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 401 

(4.) "The length of the school year in public schools is shorten- 
ed because of the necessity for using the children in the cotton 
fields." 

(5.) "In country schools of Oklahoma, hygiene and sanitation 
are not taught until the 8th grade, which is reached only by a few 
of the Indian children most in need of this information." 

The significant facts shovtTi in Table 50 are as follows: 

(1.) The number of Indian youth of school age (6 to 21) is 
30,798. 

(2.) The number enrolled in public, government and mission 
schools is 25,424. The apparently favorable significance of this 
figure is greatly diminished by the fact that the attendance for most 
of the large groups is only about 60 per cent. 

(3.) 21,245 Indians, forming 84i per cent of the Indian school 
enrollment, are already in public schools. 

(4.) Only 3,584 Indians, or 14 per cent of the Indian school 
enrollment, are in government and tribal schools. 

The following facts concerning the pupils enrolled in the gov- 
ernment schools are both significant and interesting: 

(1.) Classification of the pupils according to grade shows 
that 89 per cent are in grades 1 to 6 inclusive ; 9 per cent in grades 
7 and 8 ; and only 2 per cent above the 8th grade. 

(2.) The age classification indicates that 29 per cent are 10 
years of age or under ; 47 per cent are 11 to 15 years inclusive ; 19 
per cent are 16 to 18 inclusive; and 5 per cent are over 18 years 
of age. 

(3.) According to proportion of Indian blood, the full-blood 
Indians are 71 per cent; the % to % bloods are 24 per cent; and 
14 blood are only 5 per cent. 

FINANCIAL SUPPORT. 

The study of the financial support of education for Indians in 
Oklahoma involves a consideration of appropriations made by Con- 
gress for Indian Education, the school expenditures from tribal 
funds, public school taxes, and the loss of income to the state on 
account of the extensive areas of non-taxable lands in the state. 

The potential taxes on untaxed lands can , only be estimated 
on the basis of reports obtained from county tax assessors and of- 
ficers of the U. S. Indian Bureau. The estimates relating to the 
taxation of untaxable land are as follows : (For additional figures, 
see Appendix B.) 



462 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

(1.) Number of acres of untaxable land 7,000,000 

(2.) Average value per acre of untaxable land (1922), $18.33 
(3.) Average rate of school taxation (1922) 10 mills. 
(4.) Taxable value of 7,000,000 acres at $18.33 per acre, 
$128,300,000. 

(5.) Potential tax @ 10 mills $1,283,000 

Comparison of Potential Tax and U. S. Government Ex- 
penditures for Indian education: 

Potential Tax $1,283,000 

Appropriations from U. S. Govt, and Tribal 
Funds 855,000 



$ 428,000 



The differences between these two figures amounting to $428,- 
000.00 is the present loss to the State because of non-taxable Indian 
lands, and this difference added to the amounts now expended 
'by the government from Congressional appropriations and tribal 
funds equals the sum that will become available for the support 
of public schools when the trust period expires. 

INCREASED FEDERAL AID FOR INDIAN EDUCATION 
SHOULD BE SOUGHT. 

It is evident that the U. S. Government should adopt a policy 
of liberal support for all educational movements providing for the 
preparation of the Indian youth to enter the public school system 
so that the transfer may be made with the least possible friction 
or injustice to the Indians. 

The history of the Indian people in America shows that they are 
being gradually merged into general population of the country. The 
policy of U. S. Indian bureau is in accord with the general tenden- 
cy of Indian life. 

Sound educational policy requires that the responsibility and 
function of both groups of schools should be clearly recognized. 

(1.) U. S. Government Schools, originally offering the only 
school facilities to Indians and still needed to supplement the lim- 
ited school facilities of the state, will be needed for some time to 
come to provide education for the following special classes; (a.) 
orphans; (b) those subnormal in health; (c) those excluded by 
poverty; (d) those living too far from school; (e) those with 
unfavorable home conditions. 



SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 403 

(2.) The Public School System Avith its numerous school dis- 
tricts is fitted to care for the younger children who can thus remain 
at home and receive their training in the local schools. 

HOME AND SCHOOL VISITORS SHOULD BE APPOINTED. 

To the end that the public school facilities for Indian children 
may be improved, not only for those already enrolled, but also to 
justify the enrollment of still larger numbers of Indian children it 
is urged that Home and School Visitors should be provided in those 
counties having large numbers of Indian children to be educated. 

RECOMMENDATIONS. 

(1) The school system should be organized so that the Indian 
youth shall ultimately be educated in the public schools of the 
State. To this end the responsibility of the Federal government 
will gradually decrease, and that of the state will increase, until 
the schools are entirely controlled and maintained by the State. 

(2) Home and School Visitors should be provided in the coun- 
ties having large numbers of Indian children. These workers are 
to study the Indian homes and the schools, and to enlist the help 
of all county agencies for their improvement. During the trust 
period the Federal government should give liberal financial aid for 
the employment of these workers. 

(3) The present system of Federal and Tribal boarding schools 
should be continued so long as necessary to care for special classes 
of Indian children, such as orphans, and those imable to attend 
public schools on account of bad health, poverty, distance from 
school, or other disabilities. 

(4) The government school plants should be eventually acquir- 
ed by the State of Oklahoma, to be used as secondary training 
schools offering trade courses, agriculture, and home economics to 
Avhite and Indian youths. 

(5) The Federal government should provide liberal financial 
aid for the education of Indian children in public schools during the 
Trust period. 

EDUCATION FOR NEGROES. 

It is assumed that all recommendations of a general nature in 
other chapters of this survey will apply to both white and colored 
schools. 

(1) The white and colored schools, both city and rural should 
be supported financially in the same manner. 



404 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

(2) A State Supervisor of Negro Schools should be employed 
to give his full time to the betterment of Negro schools in the State. 
This supervisor should be appointed by the State Superintendent of 
Public Instruction, and should be paid not less than $3,000 per year, 
and allowed at least. $1,200 for travel expense. 

(3) The course of study in Negro schools, both city and 
rural should be made more practical and should be more closely 
related to the life and needs of the pupils. 

COUNTY INDUSTRIAL SUPERVISORS NEEDED. 

(4) In those 15 counties having the largest rural Negro 
populations, county industrial supervisors should be appointed to 
work as assistants to the county superintendents, in order that the 
work in the Negro rural schools may be of more value to the pupils. 
The work of these supervisors should be similar to that of the 
Jeanes Fund workers in Carter and Wagoner Counties, and in other 
States. A salary of not less than $1,500 should be paid, and the 
worker employed for 12 months. These supervising teachers should 
be appointed by the county superintendents, subject to the approval 
of the State Supervisor of Negro Schools. In order to induce the 
counties to employ these workers, half the salary should be paid by 
the State. An appropriation of $11,250 will be required for this. 
Well-trained and experienced colored women teachers should be 
secured for this work. 

(5) No more one-teacher schools should be built, or operated, 
than is absolutely necessary. As far as possible, consolidation 
should be effected so that the children may be taught in schools hav- 
ing two or more teachers. 

(6) Where conditions make a one-teacher school necessary, 
the school should have an industrial room as well as a large class- 
room, and should be equipped so that the teacher may have plenty 
of material to work with. 

(7) A State appropriation should be made to match the Fed- 
eral funds now available for the teaching of vocational agriculture 
under the Smith-Hughes Act. Thus if $5,000 is available, the 
State should set aside an equal amount. Since this money is match- 
ed by local funds, the total amount then available would be $20,000, 

(8) In order to encourage the teaching of vocational home eco- 
nomics, a State appropriation of $10,000 should be made, to pay one- 
half the salaries of teachers in State approved rural schools. This 
work should be under the direction of the State Supervisor of Home 
Economics, and at least 90 minutes per day should be devoted 



SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 405 

to the work. This amount would be sufficient to provide for 20 
schools, with an average salary of $1,000. 

(9) The State college for Negroes, either at Langston or at 
some other location, should be provided with dormitories and a 
teaching staff, such than an adequate supply of teachers for Okla- 
homa's schools, may be trained in the State. 

(10) In addition to providing for a supply of teachers, a col- 
lege department should be developed at the State college — now 
the Colored Normal and Agricultural University, in order that those 
students who expect to engage in other professions may receive col- 
lege training without having to leave the State. 

STATE AID FOR RURAL SCHOOL BUILDING. 

(11) A policy of State aid in the building of rural schools 
should be inaugurated, and an initial appropriation of $25,000 should 
be made for the first year. Aid should be given on the same condi- 
tions under which aid from the Rosenwald Fund is secured. This 
would insure proper use of the State money, and would insure the 
proper design and construction of rural schools. 

(12) Provision should be made for giving additional training,, 
especially along vocational lines, to those boys and girls who are 
forced to leave school before completing the high school course. By 
means of evening schools in cities, for example, many of these boys 
and girls can be reached. 

(13) The high school course in a city school should include at 
least one vocational course, designed to prepare students for some 
definite occupation open to them in the city. 

(14) An effort should be made to make the work in primary 
grades more effective, especially in city and town schools. This 
can be done by securing better primary teachers, by employing more 
teachers, so that there will be fewer pupils per teacher in the first 
four grades, and through supervision by the superintendent or a 
primary supervisor. 

(15) In order that at least one vocational high school may be 
developed in each of the 15 counties having the largest Negro rural 
population, it is recommended that the State aid one school in each 
county to the extent of $1,000 per year. The schools aided should 
be recommended by county superintendents, and approved by the 
State Department of Public Instruction, as to location, building, 
local support, equipment, and teaching force. A State appropria- 
tion of $15,000 would be necessaiy for this. Every school should 
be inspected and approved, or disapproved, each year, in order that 
proper standards may be maintained. 



APPENDIX A. 

LEGISLATION AFFECTING CITY SCHOOL SYSTEMS. 

The following paragraphs from the report of the survey of the 
public schools of Wheeling, West Virginia, will be suggestive to the 
citizens of Oklahoma in considering possible changes in city school 
organization and procedure. (See U. S. Bureau of Education, 
Bulletin 1921, No. 28, pp. 12-17.) 

II. THE LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM. 

There is a commendable tendency in progressive States to elimi- 
nate special charter legislation for indejiendent city school districts. 
When the State drafts a good general law for the purpose, it saves 
a city a good deal of special maneuvering simply to come in under 
it. 

If Wheeling does not choose to follow this course, it is recom- 
mended that, in rewriting the charter, the general State legislation 
be accepted so far as it is suited to conditions in Wheeling, and that 
special legislation be sought only in so far as the general legislation 
is not suitable. 

NECESSARY DISTINCTION BETWEEN STATE LEGISLATION 
AND THE RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE BOARD. 

Only the more general and fundamental things should be ac- 
complished by State legislation. Matters of detail should be left 
to the by-laws, rules and regulations, and other legislation by the 
board. 

In the following summary of the things to be taken care of in 
the proposed reorganization of the affairs of the independent school 
district of Wheeling, those matters which are usually best taken care 
of by State legislation are designated by the letter (S) ; and. those 
which are best included under the rules and regulations or other leg- 
islation of the board are designated by the letter (R). 

SUMMARY OF POINTS TO BE COVERED. 

(1) The subdistrict divisions should be abolished, except for 
attendance purposes. (S) 

(2) There should be a school board of five members, elected 
at large, one member being elected each year, for a term of five 

406 



APPENDIX A 407 

years. (If elections must be biennial, then the term should be six 
years, one-third of the board, as nearly as may be, being elected at 
each election.) (S) 

(3) It is desirable, though not so essential, that members 
be nominated by petition and elected on nonpartisan ballot, at special 
school elections, held in the school buildings, and directed by the 
board of education. (S) 

(4) Board members should be citizens of the United States, 
and residents of the city for at least three years immediately preced- 
ing electioii. (S) 

(5) No salary or other remuneration should be paid to board 
members. This does not preclude the payment of traveling and 
other necessary expenses in the conduct of the boards business. (S) 

(6) When a vacancy occurs other than by expiration of term 
of office, it should be filled by the mayor (subject to confirmation 
by the council) until the next school election, when it should be fill- 
ed by election for the unexpired portion of the term. (S) 

(7) A specific day and hour should be fixed for the first meet- 
ing of the board subsequent to the annual election, at which time 
the board is organized for the year. (S) 

(8) A sepcific day and hour should be fixed for the regular 
monthly board meetings and a method prescribed for calling special 
meetings. (R) 

(9) The board should have no standing committees except the 
committee of the whole. (R) 

(10) When tasks arise demanding committee work, the board 
should appoint temporary special committees. (R) 

(11) The superintendent of education should be made the 
chief executive of the board of education in its administration of 
all aspects of the school system. (S) 

(12) The board should appoint the superintendent for a rela- 
tively long term of three or four years, subject to removal only 
for cause by a four-fifths vote of the board. (S) 

(13) In Wheeling the board should create (if not already 
created) and provide for the following positions subordinate to 
the chief executive: (1) Business assistant (who also should be 
clerk of the board) ; (2) manager of properties (or director of 
buildings and grounds), subordinate to the business assistant; (3) 
director of census and attendance; (4) director of health (includ- 
ing both medical inspection and physical education) ; (5) primary 
supervisor. Beyond these, the present provision of special super- 



408 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

visors, principals, teachers, nurses, etc., appeal's to be good. (R) 
(By-laws.) 

(14) Outside of the major executive organization the board 
should provide for and appoint for only part-time or occasional 
duties an attorney, a treasurer, and an auditor. (R) (By-laws.) 

POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE BOARD. 

(15) The board should possess corporate powers: The power 
to acquire, hold, lease, and sell real and personal property; to 
receive bequests and donations; to sue and be sued; to condemn 
property needed for education purposes; and to perform other cor- 
porate acts required for the management and control of the schools 
and other agencies committed to its care. (S) 

(16) The powers and duties of the board of education should 
be: 

(a) To determine all questions of general policy to be employ- 
ed in the conduct of education. (S) 

(b) To create, abolish, modify, and maintain such positions, 
schools, divisions, classifications, etc., as may be necessary for the 
efficient administration of the work. (S) 

(c) To have the care custody, title, control, and safekeeping 
of all school property or other property of the city used for educa- 
tional, social, or recreational activities and not specifically placed 
by law under the control of some other body or officer, and to pre- 
scribe rules and regulations for the use and preservation of such 
property. (S) 

(d) To purchase new school sites or additions to sites, and to 
order new buildings or additions to buildings erected, as the needs 
of the schools and other educational, social, and recreational agen- 
cies under their control may necessitate ; and to approve all con- 
tracts entered into. (S) 

(e) To rent or lease property required for the use of schools or 
other agencies maintained and directed by the board. (S) 

(f ) To establish and maintain such free elementary schools, in- 
termediate schools, high schools, kindergartens, vocational and in- 
dustrial schools, technical schools, night schools, part-time or con- 
tinuation schools and classes, vacation schools, open-air schools, 
schools for adults, schools for delinquents, schools for mentally and 
physically defective children, or such other schools or classes as 
the board shall deem necessary to meet the needs and demands of 
the city. (S) 



APPENDIX A 409 

(g) To establish and maintain libraries and museums which 
may be open to the public, to organize and maintain public lecture 
courses, and to establish, equip, and maintain play grounds, recre- 
ation centers, social centers, and reading rooms. (S) 

(h) To authorize the formulation of the annual budget of 
expenditures for the schools, public library, and other agencies main- 
tained by the board, and to pass upon and adopt such budget as 
the work appears to necessitate. (S) 

(i) To fix the annual tax levy for education. (S) 
(j) To fix the annual tax levy for education. (S) 
(k) To approve all expenditures made. (S) 
(1) To approve all contracts entered into. (S) 
(m) To authorize the formulation of the by-laws, rules, and 
regulations needed for the direction and management of the schools 
and other agencies and activities under the board, and to approve 
such by-laws, rules, and regulations before they become operative. 
(S) 

(n) To authorize the courses of study which shall be given in 
the schools or by other educational agencies directed and maintained 
by the board, and to approve the content of such courses before they 
become operative. (S) 

(o) To authorize the selection and determination of such books, 
maps, globes, apparatus, furniture, tools, and other equipment and 
supplies as may be necessary for the proper and efficient manage- 
ment of the schools and other educational, social, and recreational 
agencies and activities under its management and control, and to 
approve such selections and determinations before purchases are 
made. (S) 

(p) To authorize the purchase and provision of such books, 
maps, globes, apparatus, furniture, tools, and other equipment and 
supplies as may be necessary for the proper and efficient manage- 
ment of the schools and other educational, social, and recreational 
agencies and activities under its management and control, and to 
approve prices and other conditions of purchase, before such pur- 
chases are made. (S) 

(q) To select and employ a superintendent of education, who 
shall be the chief executive of the board. (S) 

(r) To authorize the determination of the number and quali- 
fications of employees to be provided for the work of the several 
schools and agencies, and to approve such determinations before 
employees are selected. (S) 



410 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

(s) To authorize the establishment of an efficient system of 
certification of teachers, and the preparation of eligible lists. (S) 

(t) To require the superintendent to nominate all assistants, 
directors, and supervisors of special departments, principals, teach- 
ers, phyiscians, nurses, janitors and other officers and employees 
in the organization under his charge ; the board to pass upon and 
approve all nominations before appointments are made and to 
make all appointments and approve all contracts. (S) 

(u) To authorize the determination of plans for attendance, 
census, classification, grading, promotion, transfers, graduation 
from schools and courses, and other matters involved in the manage- 
ment and control of the pupils and students and to approve all such 
plans before they become operative (S) 

(v) To authorize the determination of plans for testing, re- 
cording and reporting the degrees of proficiency attained by the pu- 
pils in the several classes, grades, and schools ; approve such plans 
before they are put into operation ; and to provide the means neces- 
sary for making the plans operative. (S) 

(w) To authorize the preparation and publication periodical- 
ly of reports to the community which set forth in a clear and in- 
telligible manner the character of the efforts, degrees of achieve- 
ment, working conditions, finance, and further needs of the schools 
and other agencies maintained and directed by the board ; to approve 
such reports before they are published ; and to direct their publica- 
tion and distribution. (S) 

(x) To require their officials to make such reports of the edu- 
cational and other activities under their charge as may be legitimate- 
ly requested by county. State, or national authority. (S) 

(y) To perform any duty imposed upon boards of education 
by the laws or administrative regulations of the State so far 
as they may be applicable to the school or other educational agencies 
and affairs of the district and not inconsistent with other legislation 
affecting the district. (S) 

(z) To prescribe such by-laws, rules, and regulations as may 
be necessary to make the State legislation effective, and for the 
conduct of the proceedings of the board, and for transacting all 
the affairs of the board that relate to the management, operation, 
control, maintenance, and discipline of the schools, public library, 
and all other educational, social, and recreational agencies and activ- 
ities under its charge or direction. (S) 



APPENDIX A 411 

(aa) To perform such other duties and to possess such other 
powers as may be required to administer the affairs placed under 
its control and management to execute all powers vested in it, and 
to promote the best interests of the schools and other agencies and 
activities committed to its care. (S) 

POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE SUPERINTENDENT. 

(17) The superintendent of schools should possess the fol- 
lowing powers and be charged with the following duties 

(a) To serve as the chief executive officer of the board in its 
conduct of the schools. and of other agencies and activities commit- 
ted to its care. (S) 

(b) To attend all regular and special meetings of the board, 
and to cooperate and advise with all committees of the board. (S) 

(c) To exercise the right to speak on all matters before the 
board, but not to vote. (S) 

(d) To enforce all provisions of law and all rules and regula- 
tions relating to the management of the schools and other educa- 
tional, social, and recreational agencies and activities under the 
direction of the board of education. (S) 

(e) To prepare and submit to the board for approval, by-laws, 
rules and regulations needed for the direction and control of the 
schools and other agencies and activities under the charge of the 
board. (S) 

(f) To prepare, in conference and cooperation with the di- 
rectors and supervisors of special departments, principals, teachers, 
librarians, and other competent members of the organization, the 
contents of each course of study authorized by the board of edu- 
cation. (S) 

(g) To select, in conference and cooperation ^^.nth. the directors 
and supervisors of special departments, principals, teachers, li- 
brarians, physicians and nurses the text-books and other books, 
apparatus, maps, charts, tools, equipment and all other supplies 
and appliances needed for the activities of the schools and other 
agencies under the care of the board. (S) 

(h) To determine the boundaries of school attendance subdis- 
tricts, subject to the approval of the board. (S) 

(i) To investigate the need of and recommend to the board 
provision for school facilities in the several subdistricts. (S) 

(j) To have charge of the operation and maintenance of the 



412 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

buildings and equipment of the schools and other agencies under 
the board, the maintenance of grounds, and the purchase, storage, 
and distribution of books, maps, charts, apparatus, tools, and all 
other equipment, materials, and supplies. (S) 

(k) To have charge of the system of certification of all teach- 
ers and other employees except as otherwise provided for by law, 
and to prepare, as occasion demands, eligible lists for all types of 
positions. (S) 

(1) To nominate as needed the assistants, directors and super- 
visors of special departments, principals, tecahers, physicians, nurses, 
librarians, janitors, clerks, stenographers, and other employees, au- 
thorized by the board. (S) 

(m) To recommend, subject to the approval of the board, the 
salary to be paid each official or employee of the board. (S) 

(n) To have supervision and direction of assistants directors, 
and supervisors of special departments, principals, teachers, librar- 
ians, physicians, nurses, attendance officers, janitors, and other per- 
sons employed in the conduct of the schools and other agencies under 
the board. (S) 

(o) To assign principals, nurses, janitors, librarians, and other 
employees to the schools or other place where their work is to be 
done ; to transfer them from one school or other place of work to 
another; and to report immediately such transfers to the board for 
consideration and action. (S) 

(p) To assign teachers to schools, grades, classes, and courses 
according to the needs of the service; to transfer teachers from one 
school to another, from one grade to another, from one class to an- 
other, according to the needs of the service; and to report immed- 
iately such assignments and transfers to the board for its consider- 
ation and action. (S) 

(q) To report to the board violations of regulations and cases 
of insubordination; and in cases sufficiently grave to warrant it, 
suspend any official or employee under the direction of the super- 
intendent until the next regular meeting of the board when all 
the facts relating to the case shall be submitted to the board for 
its consideration and action. (S) 

(r) To recommend for discharge or retirement any employee 
under his direction whose influence or services are so unsatisfactory 
as to warrant such action, subject to the approval of the board. (S) 

(s) To prepare, in conference with the business assistant and 



APPENDIX A 413 

Others in possession of the necesary facts, an annual budget, show- 
ing in detail the appropriations necessary to meet the estimated 
needs of the ensuing school year, and submit the same to the board 
for consideration and action. (S) 

(t) To recommend to the board transfers from one budgetary 
appropriation to another as conditions may require. (S) 

(u) To have power, within the limits of the detailed budget 
approved by the board, to approve and direct all purchases and ex- 
penditures, making report to the board at each monthly meeting, 
and at any other time when the board may request it ; to report pro- 
posed detailed expenditures prior to action, whenever the board 
may request the same, for its consideration and action, (S) 

(v) To have supervision and direction over all activities in- 
volved in the census, the enforcement of the attendance laws, the 
classification, grading, promotion, discipline, and the organization 
and management in general of the pupils and students, 

(w) To have supervision and direction over courses of study, 
methods of educational procedure, the working conditions of pupils 
and teachers, standards of achievement, the supervisory labors of 
special supervisors, principals, and departmental heads, the training 
of teachers in service, the measurement of educational achievements, 
and every other professional factor, agency, or activity involved in 
the efficient conduct of education. (S) 

(x) To make decisons in the case of controversies or conflicts 
arising in the administrative organization of which he is the head, 
subject to appeal to the board. (S) 

(y) To decide all matters of detail purely ministerial and ad- 
ministrative in the application of laws, by-laws, rules, and regula- 
tions to the concrete situations that are met with; and to decide 
any matters that may raise concerning which no specific provision 
is made in the legislation, reporting his decisons at the next regular 
meeting of the board following such decisions. (S) 

THE BUSINESS ASSISTANT AND CLERK OF THE BOARD. 

(18) The business assistant to the superintendent and clerk of 
the board, before entering upon the duties of his office, should exe- 
cute a bond in such sum as directed by the board, conditioned upon 
the faithful discharge of his official duties, and delivery to his 
successor of all district property pertaining to his offffice or in his 
custody. 

(19) The business assistant, under the supervision and direc- 



414 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

tion of the superintendent, should perform the following duties: 

(a) Act as purchasing agent, receive, store, and distribute 
the books, supplies, apparatus, and other materials and appliances 
authorized by the board. (R) 

(b) Represent the board in negotiations relating to the con- 
struction, repair, and maintenance of school property. (R) 

(c) Recommend to the board through the superintendent such 
assistants, clerks, janitors, engineers, foremen, and mechanics as 
shall be needed for continuous employ in the department under his 
charge; and have authority to employ for brief periods such work- 
men as are necessary for the execution of the labors of his depart- 
ment, and to discharge the same. (R) 

(d) Supervise all matters of repair, and have general charge 
of all buildings under the charge of the board. (R) 

(e) Make and keep accurate and reliable real and personal 
property records which shall show the cost, time of purchase or ac- 
quisition, present value, and location of the property. (R) 

(f) Cause of the property of the board to be insured in such 
amounts as the board may from time to time direct, and keep a 
record of insurance placed on school property. (R) 

(g) Make to the board through the superintendent written 
monthly report of the condition of the buildings and other property 
of the board, as to repairs, construction, and improvements, in- 
cluding such requests of principals as require action of the board, 
with recommendations thereon. (R) 

(h) Draw up or examine all contracts and other engagements 
in which the board is a party. (R) 

(i) Receive tuition fees, fines, money from the sale of books, 
shop construction, and other school property and services, from 
other buildings, and from other sources, except such as are paid to 
the treasurer of the board according to law, and deposit all moneys 
collected by him with the district treasurer at least once each month. 
(R) 

(j) Audit all claims, approve all bills, and submit the same to 
the auditor of the board for audit and approval. (R) 

(k) Audit all cash collections made by the agents of the board, 
and determine the kind of form of reports to be required of such 
collection agents. (R) 

(1) Keep the revenue and expense accounts, asset and liability 
accounts, budget allowance ledger, registers of purchase orders. 



APPENDIX A 415 

vouchers and warrants, expenditure distribution record by schools, 
pay-roll records, registers of leases ; rents, bonds, and building con- 
struction, and other contracts. (R) 

(m) Draw all warrants in payment of claims against the 
board. (R) 

(n) Submit to the board a monthly report of receipts, dis- 
bursements, and budget balances, and an annual report at the close 
of the fiscal year. (R) 

(o) Act as custodian of all contracts, securities, documents, 
title papers, books of record, and other papers belonging to the 
board. (R) 

(p) Have supervision and direction over the director of 
properties, janitors, and other continuous or temporary employees 
of the department under his charge. (R) ■ 

(q) Perform such other duties as may be assigned by the 
superintendent under the authorization of the board. (R) 

(20) The business assistant, in his capacity of clerk of the 
board, should perform the following duties: 

(a) Perform the usual functions of secretary to the board. 

(R) 

(b) Keep the minutes of the meetings of the board, and a 
calendar of all matters referred to committees and others, and re- 
port action or non-action on the same at each regular meeting. (R) 

(c) Send written notices to board members of both special 
and regular meetings of the board, with calendar of all matters to 
be brought before the meeting so far as these are known at time 
of sending the notice. (R) 

(d) Receive and reply to all communications to the board 
according to the directions of the board. (R) 

(e) Perform such duties as are prescribed by law or by the 
by-laws of the board in connection with school elections of every 
kind. (R) 

The legislation above suggested ^^dll provide for good organi- 
zation and procedure upon the administrative level of the manage- 
ment. It is not possible here to enter into a full enumeration of all 
the laws, by-laws, rules, and regulations that should be enacted for 
the governance of the schools. The things to be provided for are 
very numerous and can be acsertained by an examination of the 
complete school code of West Virginia, or other States, together 
with an examination of manuals and rules and regulations of care- 
ful school boards. 



APPENDIX B. 

Statement of Untaxed Indian Lands in Oklahoma. 
EASTERN OKLAHOMA. 

(a) From actual records: 

U. S. Indian County Assessors 

County Agency Figures Figures 

Bryan $ 20,870.00 

Carter 40,360.00 $ 40,000.00 

Coal 37,1'J'O.OO 100,000.00 

Craig 27,830.00 

Creek * 220,825.00 

Hughes 191,850.00 71,209.00 

Jefferson 31,850.00 

Marshall 24,340.00 

Mayes 23,570.00 

Mcintosh 163,830.00 98,620.00 

Muskogee 29,930.00 

Nowata 55,410.00 

Okfuskee 226,450.00 117,955.00 

Okmulgee 114,280.00 36,000.00 

Pittsburg 62,460.00 314,269.00 

Pontotoc 91,780.00 175,000.00 

Rogers 52,140.00 

Seminole 238,050.00 

Stephens 14,400.00 140,000.00 

Tulsa 61,020.00 

Wagoner 58,600.00 

Washington 83,580.00 61,747.00 

$1,870,595.00 $1,154,800.00 

(b) From a carefully considered estimate: 

Adair $139,520.00 

Atoka 201,600.00 

Cherokee 225,000.00 

Choctaw 250,000.00 140,450.00 

Delaware 150,000.00 

416 



APPENDIX B 



417 



Garvin 

Grady 

Haskell 

Johnston 

Latimer 

LeFlore 

Love .„ 

McClain 

Mc Curtain .. 

Murray 

Ottawa 

Pushmataha 
Sequoyah 



125,000.00 

210,000.00 

157,000.00 

140,000.00 

207,000.00 

523,840.00 

40,250.00 

57,600.00 

618,240.00 

40,000.00 

120,000.00 

455,000.00 

188,000.00 

$3,848,050.00 



90,000.00 
180,000.00 
200,000.00 

75,000.00 

60,946.00 

25,000.00 

423,055.00 

100,000.00 



113,620.00 



$1,408,079.00 



WESTERN OKLAHOMA. 

U. S. Indian 

County Agency Figures 

Blaine -.. $87,994.05 

Caddo 227,441.30 

Cleveland _ 15,775.01 

Comanche 138,321.17 

Canadian _ 30,647.73 

Cotton 89,760.05 

Custer _ 50,500.80 

Dewey _.. 40,603.03 

Kay _._ 50,064.43 

Kingfisher 11,120.39 

Kiowa 114,121.17 

Lincoln 12,660.74 

Logan 320.00 

Noble _... 69,252.56 

Oklahoma 4,816.24 

Osage 128,000.00 

Ottawa - _ 31,623.58 

Pawnee 51,153.20 

Payne 19,180.16 

Pottawatomie 36,980.74 

Roger Mills 8,617.19 



County Assessors 
Figures 
$98,000.00 



65,160.00 
44,200.00 



8.613.00 



73,000.00 

268,493.00 

50,000.00 

7,000.00 



418 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

Washita _ 26,189.37 

TiUman 46,111.61 46,418.00 

$1,291,254.52 $660,884.00 

—TOTAL— 
Western Oklahoma... $1,291,254.52 $660,884.00 

Eastern Oklahoma 

Group 1—1,870,595.00 Group 1—1,154,800.00 
Group 2— 3,848,050.00 (a) Group 2—1,408,079.00 

Total $7,014,899.52 $3,223,763.00 

(a) Estimated amount. 

About 15 per cent of the area of the State is non-taxable according 
to Agency figures. 



• 



APPENDIX C. 

Plan For Distribution of Aid From the Julius Rosenwald. Fund For 
Building Rural Schoolhouses in the South. 

For the Year Beginning July 1, 1922 and Ending June 30, 1923. 

(1) The Julius Rosenwald Fund will co-operate with public 
school authorities and other agencies and persons in the effort to 
provide and equip better rural schoolhouses for the Negroes of the 
Southern States, such equipment as desks, blackboards, heating 
apparatus, libraries and toilets being deemed of equal importance 
with the schoolhouses themselves. 

(2) The sites and buildings of all schools aided by The Fund 
shall be the property of the public school authorities. 

(3) The Trustees of The Fund and the State Department of 
Education have agreed as to the number of new buildings in the 
construction of which they will co-operate. 

(4) The school site must include ample space for playgrounds 
and for such agricultural work as is necessary for the best service 
of the community. Aid will be granted only when the site meets the 
approval of the State Department of Education and the General 
Field Agent of The Fund. The minimum acceptable for a school is 
two acres. For the larger schools more land is desirable. 

(5) Plans and specifications for every building shall be 
approved by the General Field Agent before construction is begun. 
On request from the State Department of Education. The Fund 
will consider it a privilege to furnish general suggestions, plans 
and specifications for schoolhouses. 

(6) It is a condition precedent to receiving the aid of The 
Fund that the people of the several communities shall secure, from 
other sources: to-wit — from public school funds, private contri- 
butions, etc., an amount equal to or greater than that provided by 
The Fund. Labor, land and material may be counted as cash at 
current market values. Money provided by The Fund will be 
available only when the amount otherwise raised, with that to be 
given by The Fund, is sufficient to complete, equip and furnish 
the building. 

(7) The Fund will deposit with every co-operating State De- 
partment of Education a sum of money recommended by the General 

419 



420 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN OKLAHOMA 

Field Agent to constitute working capital, from which the proper 
State official may make disbursements as required. Whenever the 
State Department reports to the General Field Agent any amount 
or amounts disbui-sed, with a statement showing that the* work has 
been inspected and approved by an authorized representative of the 
Department, The Fund will replenish its deposit in the amount dis- 
bursed, if the inspection report is approved. 

(8) The amount appropriated by The Fund shall not exceed 
$500 for a one-teacher school, $700 for a two-teacher school, $900 
for a three-teacher school, $1,100 for a four-teacher school, $1,300 
for a five-teacher school, $1,500 for a six-teacher school or larger, 
and $200 for the addition of a class room to a Rosenwald School 
already built. 

(9) Aid will be granted toward the construction and equip- 
ment of only those schools where the term runs at least five con- 
secutive months. 

(10) Every community, where an application has been 
approved, agrees to complete, equip and furnish its school building 
before June 30, 1923, otherwise such application automatically 
cancels itself. 

(11) To insure the protection of the property and to make the 
schools serve the broadest community interests. Teachers' Homes 
should be provided on the school grounds. In a limited number of 
selected localities, where the annual school term is eight months or 
;more, The Fund will consider co-operation in the construction of 
'Teachers' Homes, to be completed and furnished to correspond Avith 
the school buildings. The amount of aid to be given on a 
Teachers' Home shall not exceed one-half of the total cost of the 
building, provided the maximum from The Fund shall not exceed 
$900 for any Teachers' Home. Just as in the case of school build- 
ings, the Teachers' Home must be 'deeded to the public school 
authorities. It is desirable for each of these homes to have a bath- 
room, and if possible, a bath-tub and wash basin. If there is ample 
water supply a hand-power force pump -with, a tank can be installed 
at a very small expense, Avhich will furnish water for the bath, a 
kitchen sink and the home economics room of the school. 



